Exhibitions
Objective Meli: living memory in images
Figueres vindicates the photographic legacy of Melitó Casals and his close relationship with Salvador Dalí in a unique exhibition spread over three spaces.
In Figueres, a privileged window into the visual memory of the territory has been opened with Objective Meli , an exhibition that vindicates the figure of the photographer Melitó Casals Casas (1910–1990), popularly known as Meli. Far from being limited to a conventional retrospective, the exhibition unfolds as a choral journey through three spaces—the Museu de l'Empordà, the Casa Natal Salvador Dalí and the Sala d'Exposicions l'Escorxador—and invites you to rediscover a photographic archive of exceptional value.
Curated by Manel Gràvalos and Francesc Guillamet, with documentation by Santi Coll and the direct involvement of Jordi Meli, the photographer's son, the exhibition highlights hundreds of thousands of images in different formats. Of this immense legacy, nearly 100,000 photographs have already been digitized by the family studio, allowing a new contemporary reading of a collection that combines well-known work with previously unpublished materials.
Beyond its artistic value, Meli's work reveals itself as a historical witness of the highest order. His photographs document the social and landscape transformations of the Empordà, the Costa Brava and the Pyrenees throughout the second half of the 20th century, sensitively capturing both everyday life and key moments of a territory in constant change.
One of the central themes of the exhibition is the professional and personal relationship between Meli and Salvador Dalí. More than a simple collaboration, their connection was consolidated over four decades of creative exchanges and complicity. Considered Dalí's main photographer, Meli portrayed the artist on multiple occasions, establishing a relationship of trust that transcended the strictly professional sphere. In the Casa Natal, for example, you can see an emblematic photograph of Dalí with Gala Dalí on the occasion of their wedding, as well as an unpublished work that the artist dedicated to the photographer, representing him with a hybrid silhouette between a human face and the body of a sphinx.
However, Objective Meli is not limited to this best-known facet. The exhibition proposal broadens the focus to highlight other, less well-known dimensions of his career, positioning him as a key figure in the history of 20th-century Catalan photography.
The official inauguration took place on April 25, with the presence of institutional leaders such as Mariona Seguranyes, Councilor for Culture and Heritage, and Eduard Bech-Vila, director of the facilities involved. The exhibition can be visited until September 13, becoming an essential event to understand not only Meli's work, but also the visual construction of a landscape and an era.
As an extension of this recognition, the Dalí Theatre-Museum also incorporates a permanent exhibition dedicated to the photographer, thus reinforcing the idea that the relationship between Meli and Dalí is an inseparable part of the city's cultural heritage.
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