Photos: Carlos A. Schwartz – Efraín Pintos

El Muro (o Relato de un equilibrio) (The Wall (or Story of a balance))

Juan Bordes usually develops the technique of wax modelling and casting in bronze, that is why each realisation is like a birth, the artist himself refers to his sculptures as figures for the light. The human bodies are represented in different postures looking for muscular tensions, the aptitude of physical tearing is an exercise to go deeper into the limits of existence, strength, vigour, and the breath of life.

The Wall or Story of a balance, a bronze piece of work, was originally located on the Rambla General Franco, in front of the side wall of the Almeida Barracks – a place somehow more closely connected to the sculpture. A scenography is developed with five figures in different postures and placed in a large structure which in turn is divided into two parts, the upper part being blind panels (which could be related to the wall in front, which is also a grey blind wall) and the lower part where the bodies are placed. The result is a large screen or showcase that shows human movements with the muscular tensions of physical activity.

Retrieved from COA of Tenerife, La Gomera and El Hierro – Culture – Street Sculptures (I and II edition): https://www.coactfe.org/esculturas-en-calle-primera-edicion/juan-bordes-muro-o-relato-un-equilibrio