At the CCCB: Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, the comic book researcher and editor Montserrat Terrones, through her curation, proposes to renew the genre and offer visitors a new form of narrative. Here, through nine installations, the diversity of languages and aesthetics is highlighted. The themes addressed and the forms used are intended to be innovative. The relationship with others, to the material and to what is not, is questioned.
Nadia Hafid, Li agrades a, comic published in the magazine Forn de Calç, 2021 - Courtesy of the artist and the publication
In their work, these artists bring a critical and light-hearted look at themes of the reality of millienials, whether they are socio-economic or centered around our relationship with technology and its consequences. For example, Bàrbara Alca's Cringer presents an app - whose name you can guess - where matching allows you to meet people out of the ordinary.
Cringer, Bàrbara Alca - Photo Xavi Torrent
The exhibition aims to show how comics can open up to other formats, investing other artistic mediums, as is the case with Reflejos by María Medem, which mixes embroidery, sensations and scents, in an atmosphere carried by a collaboration with the producer and DJ Ylia (Susana Hernández).
Nadia Hafid, who works with The New Yorker, for example, questions the language of comics in A Room, while Risk Island by Roberta Vázquez adopts the analogue code of board games. Marta Cartu's Hypha is a labyrinth that overturns the rational arrangement of vignettes, a characteristic of the genre.
Nadia Hafid, A Room
The exhibition is also a showcase for the actors of the alternative scene, whether they are self-publishing salons, small publishing houses or printers.
"Graphic Constellation Young Women Authors of Avant-garde Comics" can be seen until 14 May 2023 at the CCCB in Barcelona, and includes works by Bàrbara Alca, Marta Cartu, Genie Espinosa, Ana Galvañ, Nadia Hafid, Conxita Herrero, María Medem, Miriampersand et Roberta Vázquez.
Cover image: Reflejos, María Medem - Photo Xavi Torrent
