Perico Pastor
La vida de Sinuhè o el gust de la mort.
Perico Pastor
Curated by Anaïs Muñoz and Bàrbara Bayarri
The work of Perico Pastor represents the life of Sinuhè, the Egyptian (1960 BC). Considered a masterpiece of Egyptian literature, it was recently recovered by Jordi Fortuny in its translation into Catalan, which became one of the books of the most recognized Association of Libraries in the current artistic-literary context. As Ramon Pla pointed out in the presentation of the book - and as we gather in the exhibition, beyond the letters -, "what makes La vida de Sinuhè, as well as any classic text, a valuable text - literally valuable - is his ability to express feelings common to men of any age ".
The conflicts in Egypt lived by Sinuhè share with us - and with others throughout history - the deep suffering of the soul, the unwanted distancing of the earth and the community, the exile that causes the search for a refuge to the will to survive and the attempt to recover one's life. And here we all find ourselves, either by experience in the first person or because we keep in mind what others lived and that we are not prepared to forget. In the case of Sinuhè, he was banished by Pharaoh. This event led him to an individual reconfiguration, at the same time as a re-understanding of his territory and his people. In this sense, we find a line of communication and connection with the life of Guinovart, who also had to flee, first of all, from Barcelona, and later, from Agramunt, during the Civil War.
The story that Perico Pastor illustrates interprets us and causes the return of questions like: what does art help us when our daily life collapses? Do artwork have the capacity to generate memory for themselves? Can we build a us through art, beyond the logical friend-enemy?
These and other issues are manifested in the exhibition on Petit Space from different means of expression, such as: the auditory (thanks to the complete recording of the text of the Sinuhé) or visual (represented by the artistic pieces created by the Catalan artist). The viewer thus establishes a unique journey that approximates the story of the character and at the same time to his own life story. The subtlety that reflects the artistic forms created by Perico Pastor, together with the recording made by the Maghreb poet Salem Zenia and Jordi Fortuny - translator of the text -, transfers the visitor to a space and at a time not specific.
This show comes to Agramunt for the first time, with the challenge of experiencing the ties between the work of Perico Pastor and Josep Guinovart.