Bienal de Pontevedra

This installation by Carmen Hermo reflects on the fragility and uncertainty of human existence. This work's starting point is Santa Clara Convent Church, a space where the religious devotion of years ago still resounds, but now there is a total silence. In its main altarpiece, 25 sculptures of angels can still be seen, an iconography that has been present in almost all religions throughout history, as they have witnessed the transformation of the space and become the symbol of this silent surveillance. Hermo's proposal invites us to contemplate new ‘real angels’, beings born of human fragility, who are gestated in the glass wombs of family intimacy. These are not celestial angels, but human beings committed to care, compassion and the fight for a better world. Thanks to the use of materials that resemble the originals of the baroque altarpiece — such as velvet, glass, wood and gold — and the chromatic palette of the flesh tones of the original angels, this installation is harmoniously integrated into the space. However, as Susan Sontag rightly points out, in the society of the spectacle everything must become a spectacle so that it can be perceived as real. Those who visit this work in Santa Clara Convent will know that they are not in front of real embryos of angels, but the baroque aesthetic of the piece, through its familiar yet discomforting language, raises profound questions about the nature of life, death and spirituality, inviting viewers to a silent but transformative dialogue.