The project
examines the relationship between oil and the surroundings of the city of A
Coruņa, how these territories are defined and the coexistence between the
neighboring towns and the oil industry.
The first part of the project is a photographic
documentation following the 6.5 km route of pipes that cross the city from the
city's port to the oil refinery. The oil pipeline is only visible at the
beginning of the route, when it crosses the road from the port and passes
through the Los Castros neighborhood. The rest of the route it is buried
underground and marked with two-color safety beacons although it can be sensed
through the path that it leaves as it passes through the city, since for
security reasons the land cannot be built on. Some of these lands are
concessions or land owned by the oil company, but they are used in many areas
as public space, generating an overlap between the public and the private.
Walkways or parks define a clearer use of the
territory. Other areas are simply reused as steps, shortcuts or spaces adapted
for different functions more deeply rooted in the area, such as pasture for
animals.
The second part of the project is focused on the
population of Meicende through another photographic series. An urban nucleus,
which prior to the industrialization of the region, developed in the 70s and
80s with the industrial growth that the area suffered. Located in the middle of
the refinery, the town is cut off from the city by an industrial estate and an
aluminum plant.
The collection of photographic images show the
coexistence between industry and city, and how industrialization has managed to
transform the landscape and territory previously dedicated to cultivation.
Although there are few neighbors who remember
the valley before the refinery, some of them, by tradition, continue to
cultivate next to their houses despite the fact that the products are not
suitable for consumption due to the pollution that the industry gives off.
Cars stained with black dust, corroded facades
or the inability to hang clothes outdoors are some of the experiences that
residents of the town suffer in their day-to-day lives.