This exhibition proposes an approach to the Albufera of Valencia, a coastal lagoon and one of the most significant wetlands in the western Mediterranean, understood not merely as a physical or geographical space, but as the result of a superimposition of layers corresponding to the successive and changing historical, economic, and environmental circumstances that have shaped this place. The Albufera is interpreted here from its post-natural condition, where culture and nature are articulated within a system of interrelations and tensions between the human and the non-human.
The exhibition is structured as a journey through representations of the Albufera from the mid-19th century to the present day, through various groups of works and documentation. It presents the photographic project L’Albufera. Visió tangencial (1985), a pioneering initiative promoted by the IVAM in the years prior to its opening. In this sense, the IVAM establishes a dialogue with its own genealogy and assumes an active role as an agent fostering artistic research—beyond curatorial practice—by supporting the development of six works created specifically for this exhibition by Bleda y Rosa, Paula García-Masedo, Lucía Loren, Teresa Marín, Jorge Ribalta, and Jorge Yeregui. The four-decade gap between both projects allows us to observe both the transformations of the landscape and the changes in the ways of researching and representing a place through artistic practice.
Alongside these proposals, the exhibition brings together representations of the Albufera from the mid-19th century to the present through photographs, documents, and artistic works that make it possible to explore different ways of inhabiting, imagining, exploring, or protecting this unique ecosystem. From the romantic imaginaries of the 19th century and traditional agricultural uses to tourism expansion, industrialization, environmental activism, and the contemporary challenges arising from the ecosocial crisis, the exhibition gathers traces, narratives, and vestiges that reveal the multiple layers shaping the Albufera and invite reflection on the possible futures of this shared territory.
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