the matter of silence: archives and aesthetics of memory

closing event for artist Nicolás Combarro’s residency

Since October, the artist Nicolás Combarro has been undertaking a residency at La Escocesa and, to conclude this process, we invite you to an event where he will present an update on his ongoing research project, Materia del silencio. Through the language of photography, the project explores the remains and archives of the concentration camps of the Franco regime, with a special focus on Catalonia and Aragon.

The session will conclude with a discussion on different perspectives regarding memory and its representation through research and artistic practice, featuring the artists Irene de Andrés and Taxio Ardanaz. The conversation will be accompanied by Aurora Fernández Polanco.

bios

Nicolás Combarro (A Coruña, 1979) employs various artistic forms to engage in a dialogue with the processes of transformation in architecture and its socio-political context. He is currently working on the repressive architecture of the Franco regime within the context of European fascism. He has held solo exhibitions in museums and art centres such as the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (Paris), the Maximiliansforum (Munich), the CGAC (Santiago de Compostela), and in galleries such as Solo Galerie (Paris), Kwanhoon Gallery (Seoul), the Morarty Gallery (Madrid), the Taché Gallery (Barcelona), and the Nordés Gallery (Santiago de Compostela).

Aurora Fernandez Polanco (León) is professor emerita in the Department of Art History at the UCM. She has been the principal investigator for various R&D projects on critical visualities and writing with images. She is the director emerita of the indexed, open-access journal Re-visiones. Her most recent publications are Crítica visual del saber solitario, Bilbao, Consonni, 2019 and En busca del pueblo. Cultura material y museos (with Pablo Martínez), Madrid, Akal, 2025.

Irene de Andrés Vega (Ibiza, 1986) holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and a Master’s degree in Artistic Research and Production from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Her most notable solo exhibitions have taken place at the Centro Párraga in Murcia, the Museo Patio Herreriano in Valladolid and Espai 13 at the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona. The artist has taken part in group exhibitions at the TEA in Tenerife, the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos in Santiago de Chile and the MuHKA in Antwerp, amongst others. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Fine Arts and has been awarded a Beca Leonardo de investigación.

Taxio Ardanaz (Pamplona-Iruñea, 1978) Her work revolves around the tensions arising between ideology, representation and memory, exploring, through painting, installation and photography, the remnants of thwarted political projects and other forms of collective resistance. He has worked in conflict-ridden contexts, undertaking residencies in countries such as Iraqi Kurdistan, Cuba, China and Mexico. His practice draws on historical research and inherited imaginaries to construct a visual essay situated on the margins of official historiography.

This activity is part of the Ministry of Culture’s public funding programme for the creation, research and production of artistic projects in residence.

If you have any needs or questions regarding the accessibility of this activity, please visit our page on "access to La Escocesa" by clicking here.