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Esther Ferrer, Concierto ZAj para 60 voces, 1983, Silkscreen on cloth, 150 × 128 cm, Edition of 33
Courtesy of Archivio Conz, Berlin
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ZAJ Concert for 60 Voices The world makes sound, time passes; we barely notice, immersed as we are in that maelstrom of sound and noise which appears to clog up our hearing. The chant, the yell, the recital, the speech, the interrogation… they arise hoping to lend rhythm to this chaos, yet once again chaos rules to become a wall of sound, compact, impenetrable. The ZAJ concert assembles 60 voices, paying no heed to sex, age or social position, and is directed like an orchestra by the artist. Each performer can speak, recite or sing the corresponding phrase just once or repeat it as many times as they wish in the space of one minute, changing language, intonation, etc. as they please. Palacio de Velázquez, Parque del Retiro, Reina Sofia, Spain (2018)
  • Silkscreen on cloth
  • 150 × 128 cm
    (59 × 50 ⅜ inches)
  • Inquire
  • Esther Ferrer is a Spanish interdisciplinary artist internationally recognized for her performances addressing the transience of the female body in social space. Her artistic practice began in Spain in the late Franco period, appearing alongside Hidalgo and Marchetti as a key member of the group Zaj from 1967 onwards. In Ferrer’s works, her body represents an instrument of resistance. The action Intimo y personal, dating back to 1975, unfolds with the measurement of the artist’s body and that of others, evolving each time it is performed. For Ferrer, identity shifts and transforms, escaping the triviality of gender standardization. In the 1970s, she left Spain and settled in Paris, working with staged photography, installation, and sculpture. Objects such as hammers, clocks, and chairs are recurring props in her works, playing with their contexts and sacralizing them beyond the domestic environment. Ferrer has received the Marie-Claire Prize for Contemporary Art in France, the Velazquez Prize (2014), and the Bernard Heidsieck Literary Prize (2022). In 1999, she represented Spain at the Biennale di Venezia. Her works have been displayed internationally, with exhibitions at, among others, the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona (2017), the Reina Sofía in Madrid (2017), the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (2018), the CaixaForum in Barcelona (2019), and the Kunst- und Kulturstiftung Opelvillen Rüsselsheim (2022).

Artworks (10)