Spaces
pearl, ebony, delicate perfumes, etc) are represented using white, smooth and soft fabrics.
Both elements mix, just like the moments they represent mix together in life. And in the middle of everything there is an old, destroyed boat, the result of a long journey, the journey of life.
A red point can be seen from all points in the space. The target that moves us, the motive to keep on going, his beloved Penelope, his son Telemachus... Ithaca.
There are only three colours in the composition: white (the non-colour), red and green from the century plants (the two complementary colours).
The installation was designed for the exhibition Girona, Temps de Flors in 2008
Both elements mix, just like the moments they represent mix together in life. And in the middle of everything there is an old, destroyed boat, the result of a long journey, the journey of life.
A red point can be seen from all points in the space. The target that moves us, the motive to keep on going, his beloved Penelope, his son Telemachus... Ithaca.
There are only three colours in the composition: white (the non-colour), red and green from the century plants (the two complementary colours).
The installation was designed for the exhibition Girona, Temps de Flors in 2008
Ítaca
(Ithaca). This project is an interpretation of the poem "Ithaca" by Konstandinos Kavafis. The poem discusses Odysseus's return journey from the end of the Trojan War until he arrives home in Ithaca. The poem gives us advice and tells us about the meaning of life.
The design depicts difficult moments in life (Poseidon, the Laestrygonians, Cyclopes, etc) using century plants (a kind of cacti), as these are plants with spines, typically found on coasts in the Mediterranean. Good moments (coral, mother of
(Ithaca). This project is an interpretation of the poem "Ithaca" by Konstandinos Kavafis. The poem discusses Odysseus's return journey from the end of the Trojan War until he arrives home in Ithaca. The poem gives us advice and tells us about the meaning of life.
The design depicts difficult moments in life (Poseidon, the Laestrygonians, Cyclopes, etc) using century plants (a kind of cacti), as these are plants with spines, typically found on coasts in the Mediterranean. Good moments (coral, mother of
idea and realization: Laura Pallarès, Josep Motas, Sebas Barahona y Oriol Vinyoles.
Ítaca
As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope the voyage is a long one.
May there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbors seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope the voyage is a long one.
May there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbors seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
Konstandinos Kavafis
Traduction by Edmund Keeley/Philip Sherrard
