Francesc Ruiz. The Guided Visit

Francesc Ruiz (Barcelona, 1971) has earned significant attention with a work that translates the language of comics into an “extended drawing,” unfolding a complex and provocative, visual world that opens up multiple critical readings for a narrative related to specific urban surroundings. His project in Santo Domingo de Silos does not avoid coming into contact with the religious art in this exhibition space; to the contrary, the artist submerges his work in the features and connotations of the Romanesque historical site.

The exhibition’s installation brings together these experiences, reproduced by Ruiz in a publication that has the format of a comic book, which narrates a guided tour through the exhibition rooms at Silos. The work is exhibited together with bibles from different places in the world, likewise created in a comic and vignette style, and ascribes to two stylistic traditions: one from the United States (Kirby, Marvel) and the other, Asian (Japanese manga, Korean manhwa and their Western adaptations). The bibles are displayed wide open, placed at eye-level for the viewer, and are interlaced with the publication created by Ruiz for the exhibition.

A peculiar revision of Abadía de Silos’ distinctive features emerges from a visual reading of the work. The guided tour synthesizes what happens in this specific space—that is, from the visitors’ experience in an encounter with the Romanesque relieves within this cloister. The exhibition offers an experience beyond hypertextuality that brings the viewer closer to translating the Holy Scriptures into the world of comics. Texto ampliado/Texto folleto

Francesc Ruiz
The Guided Visit