‘FIELD NOTEBOOKS’, A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE NATURAL AREAS OF OUR NATIONAL HERITAGE SITES
The photography project “Field notebooks” is a three-year initiative that will be carried out in partnership with some of the most internationally renowned Spanish photographers. The exhibition focuses on natural spaces at our Royal National Heritage Sites, focusing on the preservation of the environment through three essential sources of energy and life: water, the sun and the forests.
FIELD NOTEBOOKS NO. 1: “AQUATIC ACUITY”
Javier Vallhonrat, winner of the National Photography Award, has been entrusted with the first photographic series in this project “Aquatic acuity”, which was taken in the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso. With his artistic vision, the photographer has been able to capture the beauty, mystery and robustness of a centuries-old hydraulic system where the human ingenuity and the secrets of water are in perfect harmony.
“Field Notebooks no. 1: Aquatic acuity” will form part of the PHotoESPAÑA Festival, opening in Campo del Moro park in June and moving on to the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso in September.
Javier Vallhonrat's exhibition will shine the spotlight on the original hydraulic system used for the fountains in the gardens of the Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, which in 2024 commemorates 300 years since its creation by Felipe V and which is still working today.
The fragility of water and the way it is boldly channelled from the mountains to the fountains of the La Granja Royal Site does not just act as a compositional device but as an allegory of how engineering is able to come up with intelligent and innovative solutions to understand and preserve water.
The exhibition is strongly connected with ACCIONA's business philosophy and its desire to ensure, with the precision and skill of a craftsman, the conservation of water during all the phases of its cycle, focussing on regenerative solutions capable of positively impacting ecosystems and sustainably managing this asset that is so vital for current and future generations.
The images in Field Notebook Nº1: aquatic acuity - of which there are more than 200 - can be seen as part of PHotoEspaña in Campo del Moro park. In September, the exhibition will move on to the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, where the images can be enjoyed in their home setting.
In addition, the photographs will be depicted in a publication due for release next autumn.
A SUSTAINABLE ALLIANCE
PhotoESPAÑA, Patrimonio Nacional and ACCIONA had previously worked together in 2022, when they jointly promoted the Sebastião Salgado and the Royal Collections exhibition: meetings relating to landscape photography, which was presented in the Royal Palace.
ACCIONA and PHotoESPAÑA have been collaborating since 2017, working together to increase the visibility of an artistic vision of the human race and its impact nature and natural resources.
Last year, ACCIONA sponsored the Edward Burtynsky show: African Studies. In previous years, ACCIONA and PHotoESPAÑA have also collaborated on flagship exhibitions such as We are Water by Isabel Muñoz, which was displayed at the Lázaro Galdiano Museum and became one of the most visited in the 2021 edition, and the photographic and audiovisual exhibition S.M.A.R.T., which was one of the main activities in the 2019 edition.
The collaboration between the two organisations even continued into 2020 when they came together to promote the #PHE desdemibalcón (frommybalcony) contest as part of the 2020 virtual edition, raising awareness about the emergence of nature in urban areas vacated by humans during the COVID19 pandemic.
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Read the latest newsJavier Vallhonrat launches ‘Fieldnotes’, a PhotoESPAÑA exhibition promoted by ACCIONA and Spain’s National Heritage Agency
‘Fieldnotes’, shows the relationship between nature and the fountains’ 300-year-old hydraulic sys...