Exhibitions
Ruina Montium: Photography as a territory in transformation
The exhibition Ruina Montium , by French artist Raphaëlle Peria, proposes a reflection on the memory inscribed in the landscape. Presented at the Círculo de Bellas Artes as part of PHotoESPAÑA 2026, the show takes as its starting point the area around Las Médulas, a landscape shaped by centuries of human intervention.
The title refers to the mining technique used by the Romans to extract gold, a hydraulic system that caused the controlled collapse of mountains and profoundly transformed the landscape. Added to this historical imprint are the effects of recent fires, which have uncovered hidden layers of the landscape and revealed new interpretations of its past.
Far from a documentary approach, Peria treats photography as a material. Her images are manually manipulated through scraping, erasing, and drawing that alter the printed surface. The result is unique works in which photography acquires an almost sculptural dimension. The artist acts upon the image in the same way that time acts upon the earth: excavating, eroding, and bringing forth latent forms.
The series also incorporates photomontages with small gold nuggets that evoke the mining history of Las Médulas. These glimmers function as symbols of a memory that remains beneath the surface and reappears transformed through art. In Ruina Montium, water, fire, geology, and history intertwine to construct a constantly changing landscape. Each work invites us to contemplate the territory as a superimposition of times and experiences, where nature and human action leave marks that continue to resonate in the present.
You may be
interested
...
