How is historical memory recovered? This is explained to you through photographic art by the authors who have captured the images you can see in the exhibition “Ressons de la memòria. Fotollibres del present”, a collection of the publications of the Arxiu de Memòria Fotogràfica de la Guerra Civil that was born at the Universitat Jaume I de Castelló de la Plana in 2022. From 13 May to 13 October, at Castell de Montjuïc.

The exhumations in mass graves from the Civil War, the places that were once the scene of repression, the faces of the people who suffered it…. These are not pleasant memories, but in order to prevent these events from being repeated, it is necessary to keep the memory alive. Hence the interest of an exhibition that applies the creativity of the authors of the images and the photographic technique to disseminate the work of those who dedicate themselves to digging into the past to give visibility to those who have not had it until now and prevent us from forgetting who they were and why they became victims.

The images related to projects for the preservation of historical memory form part of the forty-something  photobooks that are available for consultation at the Castell de Montjuïc. They are grouped thematically, so you will find ones that talk about the exhumations that have been taking place in recent years, or about the images related to the identity of the people who were murdered, that denounce the persistence of Francoist symbols in public spaces, or that show a series of objects found that, many years later, tell a whole host of stories. Other photobooks, on the other hand, will show you how to develop a critical spirit, to analyse discursive strategies and to question official historical discourses. 

The commissioner Marta Martín Núñez has been in charge of collecting and organising all these photobooks. They are signed by authors such as Martí Llorens, Espe Pons, Montserrat Soto, Ignasi Prat, Noelia Pérez Sánder and Anna Jornet. There are many more (as many as there are photobooks), but these and the ones we are mentioning will take part in guided tours open to the public on 1 June and 21 September.

How do the young people who lived through them see the traumatic events of the past from the distance between generations? ‘Their views,’ explains the commissioner, ‘are constructed from a certain emptiness – that of uncomfortable family silences, the lack of institutionalised memory or the lack of references’.

If you want to take a look at the photobooks that form part of the exhibition “Ressons de la memòria. Fotollibres del present”, come to the Castell de Montjuïc, but first check the website for more information.