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''Laments'' by Javier Pérez, a sensorial experience at MDM


The Museum of Montserrat houses -in its two temporary exhibition halls Pere Daura and Espai d'Art Pere Pruna-, its first artistic installation: The display Laments, by Javier Pérez (Bilbao, 1968), based in a collection of seventeen black glass bells.
The artist's work deepens in the ephemeral condition of the human being, and its physical chain. Laments, commissioned by Teresa Blanch, can be seen at Museum of Montserrat until February 11yh 2013.
A bronze rosary of actual-size skulls and a declicate glass spine crown complement the show's collective whine of the bells' ensemble.
Laments is a sensorial experience through which visitors go deep into an absorbing atmosphere, where music plays a decisive role. Joan Sanmartí's composition, performed by the vocal ensemble Musica Reservata from Barcelona, emerges from the inside of the bells, giving it an experience of solemn gravity.
Inspiration for the music structure is drawn for Jeremiah's Book of Lamentations, combiend with the idea of the relentless passing of time, as alluded to by Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities. Finally, the never-ending progression of voices is inspired by poet Virgil's quotation Sed fugit interea, fugit irreparabile tempus. The whole composition evokes the thinking of the Renaissance period yet with a completely contemporary polyphony.
The creation process of the artistic event Laments is explained by means of two videos: The first one about the bells’ crafting process at CIRVA (Centre International de Recherche sur le Verre et les Arts Plastiques) in Marseille. The bells show a great technical difficulty due to their size, weight and colour, so each bell is unique.
On the other hand, visitors can watch the musical composition’s recording process, made in the church of Torre Roja in Sant Pere de Vilamajor (Barcelona).
The second part of this temporary exhibition consists of a series of 20 silk-screens that accompany the extracts of the book of poems El bebedor de lágrimas, by Miguel A. Hernández-Navarro, a metaphor for compassion through the story of a man who collects and drinks the tears of his sleeping beloved one.
Javier Pérez uses his drawings as a means of deepening into the idea of continuity between the human being and nature. Another delicate glass sculpture, Larva, exalts the most primary element of life.

LAMENTS
Museu de Montserrat
From October 11th 2012 to February 11th 2013