We extend Laura Fernández Balza’s exhibition up to the Puente del Pilar. An exhibition in which Senegal and Cantabria join hands through Laura’s painting, who has managed to soak up the vivid colours and movement of the African continent.
“Who are you, where and when—none of the labels that define your identity, what you consider yourself to be, make sense? In Senegal I have been, during a first phase, a “toubab”, a foreigner. But little by little, over time, the people around me have filled me with meanings. After years of taking part and sharing, I think I am also something like a friend, a neighbour, a person who is capable. With the passage of time and the relationship, networks have been woven and the “me” and the “you” have been repositioned to give rise to an unexpected “we”. As is expected here and now, occasionally I take part in ceremonies, I hold my own in the kitchen, I go out to dance in the middle of the circle or I invite the neighbours to have tea. Who am I? I am the same person who has been joined by a Senegalese “version”, one that enriches and improves me. This is what “integration” means to me. There is an African proverb that says that the river’s water takes on the colour of the land it passes through, and just as the river does, people also feed on experiences from wherever we go. By travelling through life we take on the colours of different lands, becoming unique people.”