Castellers 1998-2001

Castells are human towers made by people climbing on top of each other. They are a popular public tradition in Catalonia. A castell is completed when a child scampers to the top and raises their arm in the sky to wave. It's quite dangerous, and the castells do sometimes collapse. I first came across them when I was studying in Barcelona, and became fascinated by the formal structures of this human social ritual. I got a big book on the subject and went to draw the castellers groups practising. I got quite obsessed and drew and painted several series emphasizing the formality and repetition of these structures that are made up of striving, fragile individuals, bearing a great weight in a moment of transitory poise. They became a sort of metaphor for me of human society.


Torre: dos de set Oil on canvas 250 x 80cm	Castell: cinc de set Oil on canvas 160 x 100cm		Pilar de cinc Oil on canvas 250 x 80cm

Castellers: cara a cara 2 Compressed charcoal on paper 65 x 100cm	Castellers: cara a cara 6 Compressed charcoal on paper 65 x 100cm	Castellers drawing Charcoal on paper 50 x 70cm	Castellers. 9 drawings. Oil pastel on paper 32 x 32cm (x9)

L'anxenata 1 Oil on board 93 x 62cm	El pom Oil on board 93 x 62cm	L'anxenata 2 Oil on board 93 x 62cm	L'anxenata i l'aixecador Oil on board 93 x 62cm

Castellers on yellow Oil on board 62 x 93cm	Castellers on red Oil on board 62 x 93cm	Castellers on white Oil on board 62 x 93cm	Castellers on blue Oil on board 62 x 93cm

Castellers: third series 1 Oil on canvas 36 x 36cm	Castellers: third series 2 Oil on canvas 36 x 36cm	Castellers: third series 3 Oil on canvas 36 x 36cm	Castellers: third series 4 Oil on canvas 36 x 36cm

Castellers: second series 1 Oil on board 32 x 32cm Private collection	Castellers: second series 2 Oil on board 32 x 32cm Private collection	Castellers: second series 3 Oil on board 32 x 32cm Private collection	Castellers: second series 4 Oil on board 32 x 32cm Private collection

Castellers: first series 1 Oil on canvas 39 x 39cm Private collection	Castellers: first series 2 Oil on canvas 39 x 39cm Private collection	Castellers: first series 3 Oil on canvas 39 x 39cm Private collection	Castellers: first series 4 Oil on canvas 39 x 39cm Private collection

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