It is a large-format sculptural installation commissioned by the Westfield La Maquinista shopping centre, which has now been donated to the hospital
It will be permanently installed on the terrace of the Outpatients' Department building
The piece is made up of several 2.5-metre-high triangular prisms that form a walkable route and are arranged in such a way as to generate two visual continuums from two opposite points. From one point of view, one can read the verse in Catalan Jo et portaré l'aire (I will bring you the air) and, from the opposite one, its continuation d'on bufi el vent (from wherever the wind blows). This text is an adaptation of the lyrics Hospital del mar by Els Pets, released in 2001. The song sings about a hospitalised person. The band made a new version last year dedicated to healthcare professionals and Covid-19 patients.
Boa Mistura's works are usually ephemeral. However, in this case they have made an exception given the markedly social character of the piece. As Pablo Purón, one of the members of the Boa Mistura collective explains, "We assume that our works have an ephemeral nature, since they are installed in an open environment such as the public thoroughfare. This case is different, and we wanted it to be a permanent installation, that from today on it be part of the hospital’s everyday life, of its patients, families and workers".
The art collective Boa Mistura presented the work last June as part of the Urban Walls 2021 festival organised by the Westfield La Maquinista shopping centre, where it could be seen until August. Urban Walls was born as the largest open-air urban art exhibition in Spain and it featured the participation of prominent international artists. Once the event is over, and thanks to the donation of Westfield La Maquinista and the production of the agency HACHE, the work is now installed outside the Outpatients block of the Bellvitge University Hospital.
Boa Mistura is a multidisciplinary team with roots in graffiti, formed in 2001 in Madrid. Its work is developed mainly in public spaces, as a task to transform the street and create links between people. It has carried out projects in South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom and China, among other countries.