Collectable

MACBA Evenings

When the Artworks Speak Differently

‘How can I reach you?’ asks the face of a woman in a child’s body in a powerful installation by Tony Oursler. Nearby, Maurício Dias and Walter Riedweg retrace male prostitution in Barcelona’s Raval neighbourhood twenty-five years ago: ‘The body as a port from which to depart and an island at which to arrive.’

In another section, a black figure with electric hair and arms outstretched recalls the powerful body language of Jean-Michel Basquiat, who wanted to be a comic book artist as a child: ‘I’d never win painting contests. I remember losing to a guy who did a perfect Spider-Man.’

Why are Chinese youngsters today fascinated with American Lindy Hop and the Charleston of the 1930s? How can a passion for music and a platform like TikTok bring together such different cultures and moments in time? This is how the artist Hao Jingban describes her film Opus One: ‘This film would like to offer itself as a fish-tank for future fishermen casting their nets into the past.’

MACBA Evenings is a twilight initiative, a unique opportunity to visit the Collection exhibitions in a different way. Because in the evening, artworks speak differently. We suggest accessing the MACBA Digital Guide on your mobile, where the artworks speak to you as if they had just arrived in the world.