Francesc Abad: ‘The ability to not understand’ Catalan Conceptual art in the Tous Collection

‘Of all my works, Europe: Rescue Archaeology is one of the most eclectic. More than an interpretation, it offers an atmosphere: it envelops you, as any installation should. On one of my walks on the Serra de l’Obac, near Terrassa, I came across a cave typical of those found in the rocky landscape of that area. It must have been used by shepherds for their sheep and as shelter for the night. At that time, I was very interested in science and in authors such as Ilya Prigogine, who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry and who argued that nature has a large margin of indeterminism. That cave fascinated me and, as a result, I intuitively went back to the origins of writing and how it came to replace orality. I found a rock that could serve as a seat from which to observe the solstices and equinoxes, a way to measure time and give meaning to the landscape. It is a work of pure intuition carried out in the landscape and which returns to the ways of our ancestors. In line with indeterminism, the ability to not understand is also important. That’s why the work has this atmosphere.’ Francesc Abad commenting on his installation at MACBA.

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