La Ciudad y La Montaña

Santander is positioned right in between the mountains and the sea. From the Paseo Pereda you have a beautiful view of the mountains of the Cordillera Cantábrica. Even though it seems like mountains would form an obstruction of the view, in the case of Santander they actually allow you to look further away than if they weren’t there; they extend the limit of how far you can see.

How far can you see? And what would happen if the mountains would disappear? How would the absence of this very visible limit on the horizon change the perception of the landscape from the city of Santander? How would it affect the perception of the city itself?

The disappearance of a whole mountain range is something quite unimaginable and until relatively recently impossible. In the 8th century the mountains prevented the arrival of the Arabs in this part of Spain and during the civil war republicans found a place to hide there. But nowadays, with modern techniques, and the interference of mankind with the natural world, it has become less impossible to imagine. Large parts of the city of Santander are built with stones harvested from mines in mountains around the area. If you have a pessimistic view you could say the city is eating away the mountains. 

When is a mountain no longer a mountain? How much of it can you take away before you reach the limit and change the mountain into something else? LA CIUDAD Y LA MONTAÑA is a speculative artistic study that investigates what it would be like if the Cantabrian Mountains disappeared.

This workshop took place during El Temporal 2021 and the results were exhibited at the closing exhibition in the El Temporal art space in Santander.