ANAÏS FLORIN
UN BARRIO PARA VIVIR / A NEIGHBOURHOOD TO LIVE IN
Anaïs Florin's textual intervention for Circular Festival talks about the neighbourhood from the neighbourhood, in a positive way. The project is made up of 7 pieces installed in different places in the public space of San Cristóbal, 7 fragments of discarded and reused awnings on which 7 strong phrases can be read.
The discarded awnings were donated unselfishly by factories in the area; Anaïs Florin decided to use the printed part, which, despite being the most aesthetic, is generally not visible from the street but only from inside the houses or shops where they are installed.
The texts come partly from fragments of songs by a group of young people from Villaverde, composed collectively in a workshop led by rapper Erika Dos Santos, as well as from slogans used in neighbourhood struggles and found by the artist in the archive of the Neighbour Association La Unidad de San Cristóbal. The idea is to give voice to the people of this territory, literally: not to speak for them, but to allow them to be the active protagonists they actually are. In the words of the artist, "the intention is to align with the desire to move away from the negative clichés that exist about the neighbourhood, which do not reflect the reality of its daily life, the coexistence and potentialities that exist there, that "constellation of solidarity" which has moved and generated so many things since its beginnings".
A NEIGHBORHOOD TO LIVE IN aims to enhance the positive aspects of San Cristóbal, making them visible in the public space, with an aesthetic that mixes kitsch and protest banners.
ANAÏS FLORIN (France / Valencia)
Her artistic practice is mainly contextual, with a special interest in the narratives, memories and struggles associated with territorial transformations.