The artistic installation of the contemporary basque artist Irantzu Lekue is ephemeral and closes on Sunday “with the liberation of the birds”.
Kaldearte was inspired by the songs “Txoria txori” by Mikel Laboa and “La Paloma” by Sebastián Iradier. I wanted to establish a dialogue between the works and join art and citizen participation.
GASTEIZ The Basque artist Irantzu Lekue is developing the artistic installation Txoriak in Los Arquillos, Vitoria – Gasteiz, “an historic area full of ideal symbolism representing the concept of freedom. A utopia n centre of the capital of Alava,” she explains. A total of 6000 birds make up the artwork. “I made the artistic installations based on the repetition of simple, ordinary objects and gave them a new meaning through repetition,” she explained. On this occasion the materials used were cardboard, and fibreglass and the challenge was to elevate the piece, raise it in compliance with the safety regulations. So far I had done works with 7,000 or 10,000 objects, as in the closure of the Cultural Capital DSS2016 but there were never objects in the air and that was the main challenge and I had the help of Jose Luis Landa who was responsible for engineering the piece of art ”,she explained.
Txoriak stems from the concept of freedom, from the possibility of ascending, achieving objectives, flying, overcoming and transforming through ideas, art, imagination and creation. The artistic installation consists of thousands of birds, which, together in flocks, take flight in Los Arquillos, Vitoria Gasteiz, soaring soaring to join the color of the adjacent streets. The same but different, “each of the birds that invade KaldeArte fill this historic area of the city with joy and dynamism,” she said.
In the participatory process different centres and ikastolas of the city took part. Ikastolas; Armentia, Olabode, Mendebaldea, Samaniego, Koldo Mitxelena, the Temporary Education Unit or services and associations such as IRSE Araba, Abegia or the Sidálava Anti-AIDS Commission collaborated in the participatory process of the painting. “We have been working on this project for months and we are happy with its crystallization,” she explained.
It is an artwork in progress, a processual and ephemeral art installation that will disappear on Sunday and is inspired by two great authors: Mikel Laboa, creator of Txoria Txori, and Sebastian Iradier, creator of La Paloma, one of the most versioned songs in the world. The work was also developed in the birthplace of Iradier, who lived in Los Arquillos. The central event will be held tomorrow Saturday at 22:00 and the dancer Yanela Murua will participate with a show created specifically for Kaldearte and Txoriak.
Irantzu Lekue is a contemporary artist and muralist from Vitoria-Gasteiz. She works for social transformation from art through cultural innovation, conceptual art and accessible art. Citizen participation is key in her artistic installations, although video art, painting and sculpture also work.
