Huge heads of a bull or a ram, a goat with a fish tail or hands on which butterflies flutter star in the shop windows of the new station in The old Iriarte, the result of a collaboration with the Asturian illustrator Marina Eiro that will turn Magdalena Street into an open-air art gallery
Since last Saturday there has been a huge bull's head in one of the store's windows, the one on the right as you look at the facade. The morlaco has a clean cut in its throat from which a little mouse peeks out among daisies, poppies and other wild flowers that surround the animal's enormous neck. It is the interpretation that the Asturian illustrator Marina Eiro has made the zodiac sign Taurus. In the other window, the one on the left, it is a huge ram's head that stars in the scene. Around his neck, armor; the horns full of eyes (his own) and under his nose, a flame of fire. He seems braver than the bull, softened by the flowers in which he gets tangled (he reminds me of Ferdinando, the protagonist of a wonderful story written and published in 1936 by Munro Leaf and which told the story of a sensitive and peaceful bull. who preferred to smell the flowers under an oak tree than to be fought in the square to demonstrate his bravery). The ram symbolizes Aries and also responds to the free interpretation that Marina has made of this sign. Both works belong to his latest work, Zodiac, and together with two others (representing Gemini and Capricorn) they star in the creations chosen for Magic Spring, a slow-cooked collaboration between The old Iriarte and Marina Eiro and that will revolutionize and fill with color and fantasy the season that precedes summer in the shops on Magdalena Street.
Ante el cansancio general, la apatía, la ansiedad y la tristeza generada por el Covid-19, desde El antiguo Iriarte queríamos aportar algo de alegría, de esperanza, de belleza. Ya que no podemos asistir a lugares cerrados, que no podemos visitar exposiciones (casi ni las hay) y que muchas veces ni siquiera podemos salir del perímetro de la ciudad, pensamos en acercar el arte a los ciudadanos, sacarlo a la calle y dejar que nuestra mente vague, que nuestros ojos contemplen y que nuestros sentidos se activen.
Con esta idea en mente y por casualidades de la vida, surgió esta colaboración entre Marina y nosotras. Queríamos hacer algo especial para primavera, inaugurar la campaña con ilusión (estamos todos tan necesitados de ella…). En verano, yo había visto unos retratos maravillosos realizados con lápices de colores colgados en La Carta de Cimadevilla. Me llamaron la atención, sobretodo, las miradas de esas caras. Me quedé con la información. Un día, charlando con un amigo, no sé cómo llegamos a esas obras y a su autora. «¡La conozco! Es amiga mía», me dijo.
-Ah, pues me la tienes que presentar. Me encantan las sinergias y podíamos hacer algo juntas-, le dije.
La cosa quedó ahí. La pandemia no propició los encuentros y menos la posibilidad de ampliar la vida social. La casualidad quiso, sin embargo, que a finales de año yo quedara con Fer, que es como se llama ese amigo, para tomar un café y de la que me iba, apareciera Marina. Me la presentó y le hice saber lo mucho que me había gustado su trabajo y la ilusión que me haría una futura colaboración. Intercambiamos teléfonos y allá por febrero contactamos.
I told him I wanted color in the windows. Joy, illusion, strength. We had some wonderful dresses for the new season, a deadly collection of bags and some jaw-dropping shoes. But we wanted to present them in a special way, in a way that would liven up the atmosphere a little, that would take us out of lethargy and sadness. I invited her to hang some of her work, in fact she has a series called Rosas that I loved and it fit me wonderfully. But she preferred to take advantage of this occasion to present the latest project she was working on that had not yet seen the light of day: Zodiac. He showed it to me, I marveled and we selected the four works (for the four showcases) that best fit with spring. That's how it was born Magic Spring. On Saturday, March 20, the day we said goodbye to winter, it saw the light and the result could not have been more satisfactory. People gathered in front of the shop windows contemplating, admiring, asking. Around the Marina sheets, we built the rest of the decoration. The dresses, the bags, the shoes, the accessories. Everything revolves around a common thread, spring and the chosen illustration. For the soil, we created a magical plant world, with palm branches (which Soraya, from Viveros Solís, so generously provided us), Adam's ribs or paniculata. And in the small window, the first of those facing Juan Botas Street, the Capricorn goat, with a fish tail (Marina is like that) guarded by a large bouquet of dark red astromelias.
What a joy to be nourished by what other people do and mix. How wonderful to make the store a street art gallery and provide the opportunity to learn about the work of our artists. How fulfilling it is to go further, give a twist and make a business something alive, that participates, contributes and creates neighborliness. In fact, the idea has been such a success and has been so beautiful that the rest of the businesses on Magdalena Street have wanted to join us. Magic Spring. In no time, Marina's prints will be displayed in all the shop windows along the street. A large open-air art gallery. This really is magic. Marina has made reproductions of her zodiac signs numbered and signed. There are two sizes and two prices. We have them in the store. If you like his work, come in and ask. My daughter has already asked me for Scorpio, which she loved. You can also see everything this great illustrator does in www.marinaeiro.es or follow her on her instagram @marina_eiro. I warn you, his portraits are wonderful.
What do you think? Do you stop by Magdalena and let yourself be carried away by our Magic Spring?
