Blurring the Anecdote

This Saturday, we’re presenting Blurring the Anecdote as part of the ‘Foc mata foc’ gatherings, curated by Bru Embún and Iris Verge, in Sant Cugat del Vallès (Barcelona). A weekend of talks, workshops, food, and other activities around the Collserola area.

The video work Blurring the Anecdote is based on a choral rereading centered on the painting L’estiu by Joaquim Vayreda, involving people from various fields connected to the landscape. In doing so, it explores a perceptive dimension that invites us to shift our gaze — to speculate on new narratives that help us “reenchant the world so it can reclaim its agency,” as stated by the Amor Rumor collective in this piece.

The storyline of Blurring the Anecdote unfolds as we accompany Josep Caldes in his search for his herd of Albera cows in the Alta Garrotxa. The Albera cow is the oldest cattle breed in Catalonia, now with only a few remaining specimens. Through this journey, we delve into the everyday life of the few remaining high-mountain farmers — people who shape the landscape and hold deep knowledge of the territory. Their practices are deeply connected to broader and highly relevant issues such as forest management, the state of pastures, fire prevention, and the presence of wolves, bears, and birds of prey.

This piece is an invitation to reorient ourselves through Josep’s call and its echo, proposing more horizontal perspectives — where the anecdote emerges through the subjectivity of color, landscape, and image-making.