Bienal de Pontevedra

This work by Idoia Cuesta, designed for the Illa das Esculturas (island of sculptures), is a stone figure more than three meters high. Its form evokes a human body in tension, as if it were trying to move forward, stand upright or raise its voice. Several hand-woven red ropes wrap it around completely, covering its head, torso and arms. They do not protect or support it, but immobilize and restrain it. The work is built from a direct relationship with the body and the matter, and the gesture of braiding, gripping or supporting is charged with meaning. This is not an individual story, but a collective image, that of those who are forced to leave their homes behind, carrying with them what cannot be completely abandoned. In this sculpture, Cuesta gives form to a presence that, despite being trapped, has not disappeared. The ropes, while being restrictive, make visible a violence that is usually left out of the picture. The body supports itself, but with effort. From a logic close to manual work and to the placed memory, in the context of this Biennial, this piece raises the need to recognise the pain of others as part of our own experience, without looking away, without disregarding its weight.