SLU-Madrid's Luana Fischer Unveils Exhibit in Historic Jesuit Town
09/26/2024
Luana Fischer, SLU-Madrid's photography professor since 2006, presents her work in "Cardos" exhibit at Collegium — an art institution 75 miles (123 kilometers) northwest of Madrid in Arévalo.
The exhibit's namesake "Cardos" — or "Thistles," in English — in Fischer's words can "symbolize many things: resilience, beauty — but also pain and the impostor syndrome almost every woman artist feels when they're creating."
A self-portrait of Fischer wearing a mask full of thistles personifies the exhibit theme which came about during her residency at Collegium this summer.
It features 15 portraits of women from Arévalo, the small Castilla y León town of 8,000 in the province of Ávila. Fischer photographed the women in the town’s historic Jesuit college.
"The inspiration for this project came from the poetic light that has illuminated the college for over 800 years, and the idea of filling this space — originally created for masculine knowledge and culture — with the presence of rural women over 60," said Fischer.
She explained the photographs of the town's women capture their memories and everyday lives.
"Rather than focusing on the town's official history, this work aims to capture the experiences of those who walk its streets daily, without titles or fanfare," she added.
Fischer also placed 10 still-life compositions in the exhibit that use objects she collected along the Adaja and Arevalillo rivers. "These objects are arranged in precarious formations, symbolizing a fragile balance on the verge of collapse," she said.
"Cardos" opened Sept. 19 and will be on display through Oct. 15 at the Museo de Historia de Arévalo. Fischer will host a guided visit on Saturday, Oct. 5.
Collegium was founded by SLU alumnus Javier Lumbreras ('89). The main building set to become a museum will be built with the remains of one of the first Jesuit schools in Arévalo, where St. Ignatius of Loyola spent part of his youth.