Spain

During the Christmas break, me and my partner went to visit my grandparents that live in Spain.
We both enjoyed ourselves and since it was during the winter months apart from being boll-tick at times, although neither of us minded, we got to see a side of Spain that was not so tourist driven, although we still managed to look like tourist. On one of those days we went to visit Valencia, the third largest city in Spain. It has the most beautiful buildings which are so grand and exaggerated size. My Grandma informed the style of architecture was broxe or something like that. It was breath taking anyway although the amount of i walked into someone just because i was looking up, it is something my dad tell's me to do in Edinburgh, looking up because there is so much to see, and he is soooo right.

Anyway In Valencia they have an Institute of Modern Art, which My Grandparents wanted me to see. Before we left their house my Grandma had said to me that i shouldn't get worried if she looks bored, and that she has seen so may exhibition that it has all just merged into one for her. I immediately started saying we didn't have to go but she incised so when we got there we went though two exhibitions that where alright, but i was getting bored by them and my partner was so very bored. But we then went to an exhibition called 'My Mother's Suitcase'. It was about the relationship between mother and daughters and how they develop over time. IT was really quiet fun in the first room, there where plays on classic stories like the princess and the pea, that was a wall of shelfs with towels on them, and a big black metallic shiny ball shape sitting on one of the shelfs. I think it was showing the playful side and imagination of children compared to the harsh reality of being a housewife, which in spain is still very common compared to the british working mother.

There was also rapunzel, It was a giant bed a good four times the size of of a double with hair coming from

underneath and trailing all the way down the bed until it is just hanging off the end and touching

the floor, i thought it was a clear representation of virginity and puberty as well as sex. An over

done topic but in the environment of involving your mother within those decision and all the

feeling's involved. In the same room where these metal statues on a girls lower half with a skirt

on and pants on display and in each situation is is exploring, one is outside the exhibition going

thought the wall, another was climbing into a giant purse and a third was on a ladder climbing

into the celling.

Natividad Navalon en el IVAM from luca on Vimeo.

The room that got me was a room full of pairs of chairs, each chair clearly had a partner and it was also clear as to which chair was the mother and which was the child due to the height of the of the head rests. There was then a pieces of white material to link the chair's, i think i saw this as a how there relationship works, who relies on who and who, if there were any mother and daughters that where not communicating. However there was one singular chair that clearly had no partner and it was a mothers chair, with the white sheet rolled up and sitting on the chair. To be this represented the loses of a child, i struggle with the idea of a mother losing her child, i can't think of any form of grief being any more horrendous, i did start to cry, selfishly i wasn't think of my mother or what it would be like for her to lose me. Instead i was thinking about what it would be like if i had children and what it would be like to lose them. I don't know why i thought about it like that, i wish i could make it into some form of logic, maybe it is due to not quiet understanding how my own mother see's me, and not really wanting too.

The Last room was the image at the top of this blog, i don't really want to try and describe it due to it being so moving, i know it doesn't look like much from the image. But the feeling in that room was one of morning, silents and respect. This room was called 'passing on the legacy'

and was there to represent the passing of your mother, now mines in still very much alive but my thoughts did go to my mum. The bond between a mother a daughter for me is a mixture of friendship and authority. My thoughts carried on think while all i wanted to was take it all i, my head went tin to this mad rush. Then i saw my Grandma, she was standing there looking at the exhibition and crying. She was thinking abut her mother and how she missed her. But it is strange isn't that for a start i tend to forget my mother and defiantly my grandma Have had a mum themselves, this women that i never meet but is a part of me because she is part of them and so on.

I know this sounds a bit overly sappy, maybe a bit over emotional for a design blog but then again it was what happen next that i consider relevant. I felt happy at my Grandma's tears, don't get me wrong I don't like seeing anyone i care about cry, it will always get me crying too. No this women had her eyes opened, my grandma was so sure she would be bored b hat she saw that she told me not to worry is she looked bored and instead she experiences something with me that i didn't think would happen. I am glad she got something out of it, because to me that shows me that no matter what, you can get something out of art and design. There is always a chance to change someone's mind, you just need to find the right way for them.