Cartografies d’Aigua opened on November 6, 2025, in Barcelona, inviting audiences to engage in reflection through dialogue with the curator Montse Badia and several of the participating artists. The exhibition will remain on view until February 14, 2026, accompanied by a series of related activities, positioning itself as a central event in Barcelona’s 2025 cultural calendar, including the By Invitation programme, Festival LOOP, and the Setmana de l’Art de Catalunya.

This sixth edition of Fundació Úniques’ exhibition cycle brings together contemporary women artists whose work addresses urgent global issues, with this year’s focus on the climate emergency. Badia frames the exhibition as “a confluence of perspectives that connect ecology, spirituality, technology, and care. The works invite us to pause, to listen to the flow of time and the body, to perceive the liquid as a space of relationship and shared memory.”

Through sculptural, audiovisual, and photographic practices, the four artists—Anna Dot, Caterina Miralles Tagliabue, Fina Miralles, and Stella Rahola Matutes—investigate water as both a physical and symbolic medium, exploring themes such as the fusion of body and nature, human impact on ecosystems, and the urgency of environmental preservation.

Anna Dot: Libacions (El riu vell) – Rituals, Community, and Storytelling

Anna Dot (Torelló, 1991) merges research, performance, and installation to explore language, perception, and collective memory. Her project Libacions (El riu vell) (2022–ongoing) reinterprets Greek libation rituals, tracing the Ter River’s historical path and engaging communities in poetic actions with ceramic vessels.

Libations combines research, poetic gesture, and community, reminding us that every drop contains a story.

– Montse Badia.

Dot’s work highlights process over resolution, turning water into a medium for reflection, memory, and continued inquiry.

Caterina Miralles Tagliabue: 0.5 – Human and Scientific Knowledge in Dialogue

Caterina Miralles Tagliabue (Barcelona, 1995) operates at the intersection of art, architecture, and research. Her audiovisual installation 0.5 (2025) contrasts the technological intelligence of climate research centers with the traditional wisdom of Venetian Lagoon fishermen.

0.5 cm alludes to the annual rise in water levels, reflecting the Anthropocene’s impact.

– Montse Badia.

Through four thematic sections combining data, landscapes, and stories, Miralles creates a contemplative environment where human and non-human knowledge coexist.

Fina Miralles: Mar, cel i terra and El retorn – Water, Body, and Ancestral Memory

Fina Miralles (Sabadell, 1950) is a pioneer of Catalan conceptual art. Her early performances with earth, water, and the body critiqued totalitarianism and patriarchy, while later works focus on spirituality and environmental cycles.

What is important is the water that sings, the living water. The water sings, the birds sing, the mermaids, the whales, and we sing.

– Fina Miralles.

Her pieces, such as Mar, cel i terra (1973) and El retorn (2012), explore ancestral memory and the body’s relationship with water as a vital ecosystem.

Stella Rahola Matutes: La Cronometradora – Time, Glass, and Environmental Fragility

Stella Rahola Matutes (Barcelona, 1980) investigates materiality and ecological fragility. Her installation La Cronometradora (2023) transforms glass into a metaphor for water and time, reflecting impermanence, transmutation, and interdependence between matter and life.

Rahola proposes a “drinkable” art that connects tradition, innovation, and sustainability.

– Montse Badia.

Her work emphasizes the ethical responsibility of artists and audiences toward the planet, blending craft, technology, and environmental consciousness.

Key Takeaways

Cartografies d’Aigua positions water as a device of perception, historical trace, bodily genealogy, and tool of resistance. The exhibition highlights the interplay of ecology, spirituality, technology, and care, urging visitors to consider water not merely as a resource but as a medium for shared life and memory.

This curatorial approach underscores contemporary art’s capacity to address urgent environmental issues while offering immersive, reflective experiences that connect audiences with broader ecological and cultural narratives.