FRANCESCA MARTÍ

QUONDAM

The Quondam project arose from the rescue of several elements found in the current warehouses that make up the District, and opened to the public for the first time during the II Paella Fest at Art & Design. 

Quondam consists of a documentary in the format of an interview with neighbors of the working class neighborhood of La Soledad, dealing with themes such as the change of the neighborhood over time, social inclusion and the feeling of belonging to the community. 

The video installation is projected on a satellite dish rescued from one of the rooftops of the District, which in turn is being passed between two of the Sóller-born artist Francesca Martí‘s own figures, a Dreamer and a Believer. 

At one point in the projection, some tires appear, which are arranged in the same exhibition space next to images of old cars, constituting the Quondam-Speed installation. These tires were found in the workshop where the exhibition takes place, which used to be an auto mechanic’s workshop. Martí incorporates this element in her work after they have been graffitied with vibrant colors by the children of the neighborhood.  

«Quondam does not have a single message because it’s an abstraction of moments, the construction of lives, of how different people come together to make a neighborhood,» says Martí. «The various residents explain fragments in the history of their personal lives, talking about the area. This is mixed with my own trajectory, of the people from many countries who have passed through previous performances I have recorded in my past videos. So the Quondam video is simply a selection of moments. It looks at how every moment from the past brings us to the present, and becomes a part of building our global life.»