The commission from La Térmica cultural center in Malaga consisted of creating an editorial piece to accompany Ela Fidalgo’s exhibition “Victus et Amictus,” held from September 29, 2023, to January 28, 2024. Curated by Conchi Rosas and Reyi Pérez, this exhibition offers a journey through the artist’s creative career, from her early days as a fashion designer to her most recent works as a visual artist.
Ela Fidalgo critically addresses the fashion industry, opting for “upcycling” to transform waste into valuable pieces, as seen in her collections “Work in Progress” and “Earthwork.” Beyond fashion, her plastic exploration focuses on the human body as an object of reconstruction and commodification. Her technique, influenced by fashion, incorporates embroidery and recycled materials into canvases and sculptures, raising questions about transhumanism, identity projection through the body, and the individual-community relationship.
Based on these concepts, the editorial piece was created. It was decided to reflect the skin tones present in Fidalgo’s works using different types of paper both on the cover and throughout the publication. Additionally, the characteristic blend of materials in the artist’s work was highlighted. Fidalgo’s techniques, such as embroidery or patchwork, were reflected in the layout of the book, which flows and connects like a lace of information.
Within the framework of the exhibition “Victus et Amictus,” a collective workshop was held at the School of Art and Design San Telmo (Malaga), resulting in one of the pieces exhibited at La Térmica, “Cuerpo en Conflicto, Cuerpo Sanado” (2023). It was considered interesting to use some leftover fabric from this workshop and incorporate it into the cover as a sash, to highlight the “upcycling” (reusing objects) present in Ela’s work.