Let's pack our bags! Summer and the imaginary of travel

Associated with displacement and transformation, the suitcase occupies a significant place in the imaginary of travel. What does this universal object contain? What is hidden inside? Contrary to first impressions, not all suitcases are intended for travel. Some have the density of metaphor and the polyvalence of symbols. Before leaving for the summer break, we have opened some of the suitcases in the MACBA Collection. We have found cases that never travel alone, such as Joan Brossa's Tàndem (Tandem, 1986, 1988) and dreamlike bags, such as La maleta (The Suitcase, 1994) from the series Aparences (Appearances) by Eulàlia Valldosera, in which a suitcase is emptied as if the artist were emptying the unconscious, including surreal dismembered bodies and pharmaceutical products. Some suitcases are containers of landscape, such as Pasillo Munich (Munich Corridor, 2001) by Chema Alvargonzález, while others, like Isabel Banal’s La maleta [blava] de W.B. (The [Blue] Suitcase of W.B.), evoke the suitcases of exile, where luggage is equated with existence. All are united by invisible ties around universal meanings. Have a good summer! 

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