From September 1 to September 16, 2018
The photographic exhibition Vis-à-vis, organised from September 1 to September 16, 2018, in Perpignan and Pézilla, aims to present the political situation in Catalonia from 2012 to nowadays.
155 pictures, taken by 42 photographers, are displayed throughout Perpignan; they have been selected by a professional jury and show a documentary patchwork of the evolution of the Catalan society from September 11, 2012 to October 17, 2018, with a focus on October 1, date of the self-determination referendum, which has been violently repressed by the Spanish police forces
We are waiting for you in various central and iconic places of the Most Faithful City of Perpignan. Some of these pictures have been printed on tarpaulins, and hang on the façades of the historic centre.
On the other hand, we organise an exhibition around Roser Villalonga’s pictures, in Pézilla-la-Rivière, near Perpignan.
After September 16, these exhibitions will be separately on tour throughout Europe and the Catalan Countries.
→ Press review.
What is going on in Catalonia?
VIS-A-VIS: 10 years of history and a referendum, explained in 155 pictures distributed over six sites. 155: the number of the article of the Spanish Constitution used by the Spanish government to dismiss the Catalan government, close the Parliament, jail the politicians and the social leaders, and finally generalize repression. 155: the number of pictures composing this exhibition
organised over six sites, and telling the main episodes of this story.
Chronology
Three relevant facts occurred before 2010:
- The Catalan Parliament redacted, debated and approved the new autonomy status with a 78% majority. The text was sent to the Spanish Parliament which bowdlerised it. Finally, an agreement could be formalized and announced.
- The Catalan citizens adopted this amended text by referendum. The Yes won a wide victory.
- The Partido Popular (PP) and other entities appealed to Spain’s Constitutional Court (a politized court carefully purged of any progressist element). After years of deliberations, the court finally bowdlerised the text again so as to make nonsense of it. This status had been however voted by two parliaments and adopted by referendum.
These three facts explain the triggering of the events depicted by these pictures.
During the Vis a Vis festival, you will have the opportunity to see the exhibition “55 ballot boxes for freedom”, recently displayed in Brussels, at the House of Catalanity (Maison de la Catalanité).