The sculptor Enric Pla Montferrer exhibits at the Ethnographic Museum of Ripoll a new creation of wrought iron sculptures inspired by the marks of the herds.
It is, according to the artist, an "identity to preserve" that many people do not know but that has been transmitted for centuries.
"It is _says_ a heritage that we have and that has not been given importance: each farmhouse has its mark and when the time comes to take the herds to the mountain, they mark the cattle so that when they join the other herds they identify the sheep of the shepherd of that farmhouse".
Enric Pla Montferrer emphasizes that they are designs of "elegance and simplicity, some from more than a thousand years ago, and with very great power, nothing to envy of the large commercial brands."
His interest in these brands arose after meeting and talking with shepherds, whom he defines as "wise" because of their great knowledge of nature and everything that surrounds us. A heritage that could be lost because there are fewer and fewer of them, but that he wants to claim and value with this exhibition.
The majority of the pieces on display are wrought iron sculptures, their specialty, reproducing marks from farmhouses in Ripollès and other towns.
With more than 30 years of experience as a forger, this artist from Alpens is currently the coordinator of the forging of the Sagrada Familia, a job that he is passionate about and that he combines with other projects such as the works that he is now exhibiting for the first time in Ripoll.
The exhibition also includes a large sculpture -measuring 2.10 meters- of a design for a farmhouse in Sora. "It has a spectacular design," says the artist, who believes that this type of sculpture would also work very well in an open space.
Among the herd mark designs he has chosen, some have a cross "as a symbol of protection for animals, rather than religious," explains Pla. One of the aspects that he values most is its apparent simplicity: with a single glance you can see which cattle belong to one farmhouse or another. However, aesthetically they have an "elegance and very interesting shapes".
The exhibition also provides a critical and current look at the concept of brands in society with a large photograph designed together with photographer Jordi Plana. It shows naked people on their backs with a mark on their bodies, a design that Pla Montferrer has designed expressly for the Konvent Puntzero brand, a creative space in Cal Rosal in Berguedà.
He states that there are many types of herds; society leads us to be part of many, social networks, hobbies, religions" or even tattoos. For the artist, "even if you don't want to, you end up being part of it".
At the entrance to the exhibition there is also a sound sculpture, made up of thirty different-sized shears that simulate the noise of an entire herd when folded. "If you close your eyes, it's as if they had it right in front of them," the artist remarks. 'Marcas de rebaños' can be visited until the end of September and it is not ruled out that it could travel to other locations.
