Five years of photographic research were needed to produce the exhibition ‘Submerged Energy.’ Artist Paula Artés shows her most committed side and proposes a reflection on the network of power and control relationships that link the activity of Escal UGS —one of the world’s largest construction companies— and the Spanish State in the construction of the Castor platform. This underwater natural gas reservoir built off the coast of Montsià and Baix Maestrat, between Catalonia and the Valencian Country, generated a serious environmental impact.
Among other things, it meant the disappearance of some aquatic species, the alteration of fishing routes around the marine platform, and a series of earthquakes in the towns of Alcanar, Benicarló, Cervera del Maestre, Càlig, Peníscola, La Ràpita, and Vinaròs. Thus, the history of the Castor project becomes an exemplary case of the control capacity that private companies with vast economic assets can exert over the State, shaping the legal and regulatory environment in which they operate. As a consequence, Paula Artés’ research aims to reveal that submerged energy that not only hides among the cracks of the buildings affected by the earthquakes or inside the holes of the limestone rocks, but also in the murky contracts between the public and private spheres.
Hidden meaning
At the beginning of the exhibition route, a photographic triptych can be seen presenting fluffy rock formations, which, captured from very close, reveal holes, earthy colors, and details reminiscent of glass. “Although the photographic format is two-dimensional, the images stand out for their captivating three-dimensionality and provoke a desire to touch them. However, the understanding of these same photographs would change if we knew the context; if we knew, for example, that they portray some limestone rocks that were precisely used for underground natural gas storage as part of the Castor engineering project,” explains Carolina Ciuti, the exhibition’s curator.
Ciuti explains that Paula Artés’ works are often characterized by a certain duality: a constant oscillation between something very pleasant to look at and the subsequent sensation of the presence of a story to uncover. “The multiple layers of meaning that make up her photographic projects are revealed as details are looked at, analyzed, and begin to be questioned. With a treatment that returns us a granular and vibrant texture, these are images that often show outdoor or indoor spaces that seem to be suspended in time: with the deliberate absence of any human presence, they are natural environments, offices, domestic corners, and portraits of machinery or furniture that are presented in all their aesthetic and almost sculptural appearance. When looking at them carefully, the curiosity arises to wonder about life in these places, and the events they hosted or protagonized outside the spatial and temporal framework of photography,” she adds.
The exhibition project has been completed in recent months during a stay at the Baladre artistic residence —managed by Lo Pati— in the heart of the Ebro Delta and within the framework of the creative residency exchange grant promoted by Bòlit, Center of Contemporary Art of Girona, and the art center of Amposta.
Biographies
Paula Artés (Molins de Rei / Alentorn, 1996) is a committed artist photographer dedicated to revealing and questioning hidden spaces of power, and therefore of control. Graduated in photography and contemporary creation. With work in the collection of the National Plan of Photography of the Generalitat and several exhibitions at Mapfre in Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, at Unseen Amsterdam, and at Santa Mònica in Barcelona, among others. She has published the photobook ‘Fuerzas y cuerpos’ and has been selected for PhotoEspaña, Sala d’Arte Jove, and nominated for the MAST Foundation in Bologna, Italy.
Carolina Ciuti (Pistoia, Italy 1990) is a contemporary art curator and researcher. She holds a degree in Art History from the University of Florence and a master’s degree in contemporary art from the Sotheby’s Institute in London. Since 2021, she has directed the digital magazine exibart.es and previously held the position of artistic director of the LOOP Barcelona video creation festival (2017-2022). She has curated several exhibitions, video programs, and performances in institutions such as Fabra y Coats – Barcelona Contemporary Art Center, Suñol Foundation, Antoni Tàpies Foundation, CCCB – Barcelona Contemporary Culture Center, Westbund Art & Design – Shanghai, FIAC Paris, among others.
