Cork mosaic covered in plaster and white paint on okume wood.

Contin(g)ent is the culmination of a research process focused on the forms of the secondary school itself, its architectural forms and those of the objects contained there. Installed in the corridor leading to the school hall, the work comprises twenty-one modules that create a large mosaic of volumes on the wall.

The study of the school architecture, its spaces and its formal characteristics, along with study and research into the objects and historical materials found here (the Institut Jaume Balmes secondary school goes back more than 125 years) is the starting point for the creation of the piece. The mosaic established a dialogue directly with a large display case in the drawing classroom where various objects related to the traditional practices of the fine arts (especially drawing from nature) are stored. This display case will gain in importance and play a central role over the course of the process, becoming a space for thought, intervention and interaction.

Parallel to this piece, the pupils also worked in their personal notebooks, in which they recorded parts of the conception process, formal exercises, notes, personal reflections and so on.

Presentation

The presentation of the piece and the entire project took place at 6.30 pm on May 23 in the playground at Institut Jaume Balmes. There, the participating pupils, along with Pep Duran and the teachers Jonatan Palacín and Ana Margarits, described the different stages in the creative process, the final work, which was on show, and their personal notebooks.

The event was attended by pupils, teachers, members of the pupils’ families and representatives from ICUB and Barcelona Education Consortium, as well as people linked to the world of culture.