Càdiz, Andalucía
2023
The lot is at the intersection of several peripheral working class neighborhoods.
It once hosted Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) an airplane manufacturer that supported most of the area's economy. After the company moved in 1992 the lot remained empty ever since. My mom and I moved to this area in 1990 when I was 4 years of age.
I remember the neighborhood as a beautiful and lively place. A rough area affected by drug use and poverty where street life dominated. The use of public spaces felt like an extension of homes: empty lots operated as parks where people could gather for domestic rituals, make small fires, sing and play music, walk dogs, share food, and large groups of kids would wander together looking for fun.
Around the corner from the lot still stands a mural I painted when I was 12, dedicated to my friend Piki that had died a few months earlier.
This lot and these plants serve as a metaphor for resilience, human flourishing and cohabitation. The area has changed drastically to an overpriced, “developed” area in the process of touristification.
The mural stands as an installation in a theatrical, altar-like place for reflection. A lot where some people still hang out, walk with their dogs, some people live in small chabolas, kids occasionally use the improvised skate park built in, junkies use, couples fuck, insects and birds thrive, and a rich variety of plants grow, covering the field with flowers during most of the year.
Soon we will say this used to be an empty lot.