Inspiration

After receiving the commission for the creation of 7 sculptures for the open-air museum of La Plana de l'Arc, for a week, we traveled around the region in search of the necessary inspiration that would lead us to an idea that would serve as a starting point to shape the new project we were embarking on.
Throughout our journey through La Plana de l'Arc in search of inspiration for this wonderful project, we discovered in the different villages the direct relationship of the chair with "a la fresca", an ancient custom of taking a chair out in the street at the end of the afternoon to catch up on the latest news or simply share with the neighbors the coolness in the hot summer nights.
The chair finally became the inspirational element of our artistic project and we began to ask questions, to delve into its history, into the chairmaker's trade, into its symbolic and poetic meaning...

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Development of the idea. The chair, a step along the way

- Shape and color. 7 chairs, 7 colors -
For the shape of our chair we were inspired by a traditional huertana chair, wooden and humble, with a low seat, with hundreds of stories of the region. Most of the farmhouse chairs we have seen in La Plana de l'Arc are painted in different colors. It is rare that a chair of this type ends up in the trash, some of them are very old and have been repainted many times. For the selection of the colors we were inspired by the rainbow scale, (7 villages, 7 colors), although our rainbow is going to be 6 colors plus white, the sum of all of them.

 

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia


VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

Production

The carpentry of the chairs was carried out by Incofusta, a wood engineering and construction company located in Chiva (Valencia), specialized in the design and production of wooden structures for outdoor use. For the production of the carpentry of the chairs, a careful fusion of the latest technology machinery with handcrafted wood finishes was carried out.

 

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

Transportation to Cabanes

The seven chairs arrived in a 20-meter trailer from the carpentry of INCOFUSTA (Chiva, Valencia), to the Casa de la Cultura de Cabanes (Castellón) and were paraded one by one under the skilful command of David Romero, from LOGISTICA ROMERO. (Moncada, Valencia), avoiding the height of the trees in front of the entrance, to be able to install them inside the big tent in which during two weeks the collaborative workshop to string the seats would be developed by volunteers from inside and outside the seven municipalities of La Plana de l'Arc.

 

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

Collaborative stringing workshop

After the arrival of the chairs, the "Collaborative art and traditional stringing workshop" began, in which we had the good fortune to meet and learn with the artisan string maker Tomeu Perelló, and to have the participation of 45 volunteers from inside and outside the region of La Plana de l'Arc.
With 5,000 meters of natural hemp rope, the objective was to reproduce the seven patterns chosen, inspired by chairs found in these seven municipalities. With all this, the challenge was to give value to the ancient craft of stringing, recalling techniques that are being forgotten, and to pay tribute to the ancient custom of going out "a la fresca" that is still alive in these villages, maintaining the feeling of community.
We were also very fortunate to receive groups of students from the high school and colleges of Cabanes, and all those who were curious and wanted to come and learn more about the VIA SET CADIRES project. We were even able to receive people who brought us some old chairs with which we were able to learn more about the patterns of the area.

 

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA SET CADIRES Festival

After finishing the collaborative workshop in which the seven chairs were strung together, the "VIA SET CADIRES Festival" was held, this being the only moment in which the seven chairs could be seen together before each one traveled to its final location in the grid of green roads of each of the seven villages that make up La Plana de l'Arc.
To do this, the chairs were moved from La Casa de La Cultura where they were strung, to the Plaça els Hostals de Cabanes. One by one they arrived to the square that was filled with color, again by David Romero, from Logistica Romero, under the watchful eye of the technicians of Incofusta.
This Festival was framed within the Slow Moments program of La Plana de l'Arc in which every month of last summer activities dedicated to sustainable slow tourism were carried out.
VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

Installation

After the VIA SET CADIRES Festival, the sculptures were permanently installed in their final locations. Prior to the installation, a careful location of the different points of location of each of the sculptures, within the network of green roads that make up the Museum of Sculpture in the open air of the Plana de l'Arc, was carried out.
For the mechanical anchoring of the chair at each location point, a foundation was made in each of the legs to hide it afterwards. The transfer and installation of the chairs was carried out with a boom truck supervised by Incofusta technicians.
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VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

THE SNAILS

The snail is a very characteristic and abundant animal in the region. On the one hand it evokes the slow movement (slow), the slow and conscious walk of the traveler through the different stages of the VIA SET CADIRES and on the other hand it carries a spiral in its shell, symbol of all evolution and change, the final goal of the route. Two large-scale originals of the two best known species of snails of the place, the Caragol Blanc and the Caragol Cristia, have been modeled to make copies and install them on the different chairs, finishing off the upper part of the chair backs.

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VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia
VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia
VIA SET CADIRES is much more than 7 giant colorful chairs, this installation invites the traveler to make an inner journey, a journey of self-knowledge, slow and transformative, through its 7 stages, touring in a conscious way the region of Plana de l'Arc, and discovering some of its greatest treasures: its landscapes and landscapes, its gastronomy, its rich history and that special hospitality that characterizes them.

VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

Steps of the VIA SET CADIRES


I. VIA ALMAE TERRAE

- Vilafamés -
You have arrived at the red chair, the color of beginnings. In Vilafames starts the Way of Mother Earth, the one that gives everything and asks nothing in return, the one that nourishes us and maintains life on the Planet. In the Muladhara Chakra lies the basis of our existence and our survival. The holm oak that adorns its back, is a shrub that you will surely find on the way, for its acorns do not confuse it with a holm oak or an oak. On the coscoja live cochineals that the Greeks obtained a crimson pigment, the same as the one that gives color to this chair.
Until we reach the orange chair, we will walk the path hand in hand with the element Earth as our traveling companion, observing and listening attentively to the nature that surrounds us. We are nature, we can feel how we connect to the earth we walk on and how its vital energy ascends throughout our body.

II. VIA CVPIDINVM

- Cabanes -
You are in the orange chair of Cabanes, at this point begins the Way of passions and desires. Do you know Cupid, that chubby angel with a bow and arrows? For the Romans he was the god of amorous desire. Be very attentive on this road, they say that Cupid shoots arrows at all who walk along it. Before your eyes is the Desert of the Palms, the Palm heart that crowns the back of the chair is a dwarf palm tree very abundant in this area, running into it means that the sea is near. Since the time of the Egyptians, ropes have been braided with its leaves and some even say that its buds are an aphrodisiac.
We are on the Way of the Svadhishthana Chakra, the residence of the Self and it will be the element Water that will accompany us on this Way. Water is synonymous with life, it is therefore highly respected in this place. On this path we will learn to flow as water does, to think of what we most desire, but also to be grateful for all that we have.

III. VIA VOLVNTATIS

- Vall d'Alba -
You are at the Pou de Beca in front of the yellow chair of La Vall d'Alba, the color of the sun and fire, the element that will accompany you on this new stage of the journey. At this point begins the Way of Willpower, the center of personal power that will allow you to reach the end of the journey you have set out on. The Almond tree crowns the back of the chair, a very friendly tree of these lands that announces with great fanfare the arrival of spring?
We are on the Way of the Manipura chakra, the subtle center of our body where self-love resides, that inner fire that ignites the moment we accept ourselves as we are. The Way that starts here is a path in which we can reflect on the confidence in ourselves, that superpower to materialize everything we imagine, that strength that allows us to dominate the desires and to discover a little further along the way.

IV. VIA CORDIS

- Benlloc -
In Benlloc you have reached the halfway point. This green chair, the color of nature and balance, symbolizes the union between the human and the divine. The path of the Heart, the path of unconditional love, empathy and generosity. Air is the element that will accompany us on this path, feel how each breath fills your lungs with pure air with the scent of the pine trees that surround you. The Vine crowns the back of this chair, a plant widely cultivated in this place. Since ancient times it is said that wine gives joy to the heart and soul, but only wine that is drunk in moderation.
This is the Way of the Anahata Chakra, the subtle energy center of love, compassion and empathy. This path teaches us that only when we love ourselves can we come to love others. From the energy of the heart we can connect mind and body, look at ourselves through the eyes of others and discover how important we all are in the path we walk together.

V. VIA NVNTIA

- Vilanova d'Alcolea -
You have arrived at the blue chair of Vilanova d'Alcolea, the color of the sky, of the spirit and of purity, the beginning of the Way of the Messenger. From this moment on you will be accompanied on your journey by the Ether element, the subtlest of all. The Olive tree crowns the back of this chair, it is the symbol of wisdom, abundance and peace. Some locals say that nearby there is an olive grove of almost a thousand springs from which an oil is obtained that, as the saying goes, "this olive oil removes all evil".
We are not alone on the path, there seems to be an invisible network that unites us all with the whole and that is why everything we think, say or do in some way affects others. Visshuddha chakra is the subtle center of communication, the access to a miraculous and mysterious path. Through speech, gestures and art we can communicate to others all that lives within us, nourish ourselves with what others tell us and even listen to our inner voice: the messenger.

VI. VIA SAPIENTIAE

- Torre d'en Doménec -
You have just arrived at a very special place next to the cemetery of La Torre d'en Doménec, of careful silence and respect. The purple chair is the beginning of the Way of Wisdom and divine perception. Although you are very close to crowning the journey, we now embark on a new path that goes beyond the material world, a path where you can perceive the world in a whole new way and begin to see through the invisible. The Fig Tree crowns the back of this chair. Ficus was the name given by the Romans to this tree, symbol of prosperity, fertility and fortune. Legend has it that its fragrant scent drives away evil spirits from the house and if you have never tasted some good ripe figs, you already have something pending to do.
Traveling the path of the Ajna Chakra, the center of intuition, we will discover that we can see without the need to look, we will discover the sixth sense, that compass that above our emotions and reason, guides our decisions and is never wrong. Once we connect to that infinite source of wisdom, what we once intuited is now clear perception and full consciousness.

VII. IANVA STELLARVM

- Les Coves de Vinromà -
Congratulations, you have reached the end and the beginning of the road, since it has no end. You are in front of the white chair of Les Coves de Vinromà, the Portal of the stars, the luminous union of all the colors of the path. This special place represents the awakening, that uncertain moment where the ego disappears and we merge into the totality of the Universe. The elegant carob tree crowns the back of this last chair. A Mediterranean tree par excellence, sacred for Moors and Christians, symbol of humility and generosity. It is said that some people survived in times of famine by eating its fruits.
Although we are at the top, only humility can guide you to the end of the path. Our highest subtle energy center, Sahasrara Chakra, is open to the universe. From now on we may begin to feel different, our limits will begin to expand to infinity and for an instant, we will feel in an eternal present being one with everything around us. It is precisely at this point where our journey began and to this point we will return again.

VIA SET CADIRES. The return from social networks


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VIA-SET-CADIRES_by-photoAlquimia

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