SEAT and the working-class photographic imaginary of the 21st century Marc Pataut in Barcelona

Twenty-first century cities invest heavily in what are known as knowledge economies, often forgetting that production chains born with industrialisation remain the foundation of the capitalist economy. Marc Pataut documents the industrial fabric of Barcelona and the fact that, despite its touristic identity and close association with the world of design, it is still an industrial metropolis. One company associated with the beginning of the ‘developmentalism’ of the fifties is SEAT. Since that time, with its chain of highly technical production in Martorell and the Zona Franca, this company has exemplified the economy of the city and, by extension, the country. This series was produced in 2007 as part of the photographic project Metropolitan Images of the New Barcelona, held as part of the MACBA exhibition Universal Archive. The Condition of the Document and the Modern Photographic Utopia.