Manifesta Research – Pre-biannial Research
at Design Hub Barcelona

For the Pre-laminary Research of the Manifesta15 in Barcelona, I participated with the Embassy of the North Sea. With Sheng-Wen Lo and Harpo t’Hart,
We investigated at one of the three hubs designated by the Manifesta team. In our case, the Llobregat River. From here, we look at the delta, the middle flowing transition part and the source of the River. Fastly, the historical context of salt mines, today’s ICL potassium mines and the textile industrial appropriation of the river water became exposed.

For the exhibition at the Design Hub in Barcelona, we showed a portrait of the research, where the balance of conflict becomes part of the observer instead of a doctrine we propose.

Representation of non-human entities is not just a question of political or juridical representation. The term representation also refers to the way something is depicted, what stories we tell about it and what perspectives are deemed essential. So, in order to achieve a just political and juridical representation, we have to think about the aesthetic/ cultural representation. Through this lens of representation, we have looked at the Llobregat River. We have focused its research on the voices of non-human actors and their relation to the natural/urban environment in the Llobregat delta. The Llobregat Delta, suffering from drought and salinization, affects various sectors, including agriculture, industry, and the residents of Catalonia, both human and non-human. Our research began by exploring the physical, speculative, and spiritual connections between the inhabitants of the delta. In June 2023, Sheng-Wen Lo and Leon Lapa Pereira initiated their conversation with the river by getting close to key segments of the Llobregat basin, starting from the delta and progressing to the midstream Sallent, where the salt mountain
—the spoil heap from potash mining—is located, and then to the Baells reservoir near Berga. We have worked together with local ecologists, activists, including Miguel Cañedo (IDAEA), Núria (Tourist Office of Sallent), activist Annelies Broekman, as well as ecologists Josep Ribera and Enriqueta Codina.

“With the development of the industrial colonies, one after another, the Llobregat River came to be called the “most exploited river in the world”. Only in retrospect is it easier to appreciate this navel glaring. But the reputation of the Llobregat as a hard-working river, producing much with little, stuck in the minds of the Catalans. A “Llobregat mentality” entered the Catalan lexicon to describe someone able to maximise the exploitation of resources, no matter how small, for the maximum advantage.” Whose Quote?

Supported by the Manifesta15, pre-biennial research on El Llobregat river,
Embassy of the North Sea

Graphic Design: Corine Datema

© 2024, Sheng-Wen Lo, Leon Lapa Pereira & Harpo ’t Hart