Installation I Possessió Drift by Jorge Vidal Studio and Marria Pratts: A Raw, Immersive Dialogue Between Architecture and Painting at the Miró Foundation

In the 220 m² underground space of Espai 13 at the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona, Installation I Possessió Drift by Jorge Vidal Studio and Marria Pratts emerges as a visceral, site-specific intervention blending architectural structure and expressive artwork. Curated by Benjamin Zapico, this temporary installation transforms a worn and forgotten basement into a layered, sensory experience that redefines the spatial boundaries of art and architecture.

Designed as a collaborative process between architect and artist, the installation challenges the neutrality of the exhibition space. What was once a damaged, neglected room becomes a dynamic field of emotional resonance, textural experimentation, and pictorial narrative. Dubbed “The Joint,” this collaboration unfolded through hand-sculpted models and full-scale mock-ups, echoing a performative rehearsal that blurred the line between creation and curation.

To prototype the final composition, the duo constructed a 1:1 mock-up in a nearby warehouse. There, Pratts painted directly onto the metal sheets, stepping across surfaces as Vidal manipulated spatial elements. This material improvisation became central to the installation’s identity, revealing a tactile methodology that fuses the soft spontaneity of painting with the firm resolution of architecture.

The outcome is a hybrid spatial composition where folded metal sheets, splattered colors, and raw surfaces shape a new atmosphere—a possession through drift. Rather than occupying the space with static objects, the installation strategically lines the periphery, leaving the center void, invoking stillness and energy at once. Two chapel-like alcoves, shrouded in industrial fabric, act as symbolic "brains"—concealed zones of contemplation and drift thinking.

The reflective stainless steel used throughout the installation not only serves as a material link between architectural and pictorial elements but also introduces a play of light, shadow, and reflection. The cacophony of textures, fragmented paintings, and sensory dissonance establish a theatrical scenography, where presence, absence, and tension coexist. Marria Pratts' vibrant and gestural works seem to emerge from and recede into the architectural skeleton—evoking fragility, rage, and beauty in equal measure.

This is more than an installation—it is a lived and living space, an act of artistic resistance, and a sensory landscape of emotional charge and architectural poetics.

All Photographs are works of José Hevia