Obra: A Tribute to Frontline Service Providers during the Pandemic
Artist: Julieta XLF
Location: Coladors street
Date: 2022
The image in the form of a vertical composition is loaded with symbolism, developing from the bottom to the top (allegorically like a plant that grows from the roots to the fruit at the highest point). Thus, the base and the roots are the frontline services, the different sectors that helped us and supported us during this difficult situation are represented: a doctor as a representative of the medical and sanitary services; a musician as a representative of culture and a firefighter as a representative of the rest of the care and protection services. We emphasise that the doctor and the firefighter embrace a home and a building, given the circumstances and the state of health of society.
Next, on the trunk, we find the embrace that nature gave us hand in hand with its own recovery – occupying the deserted streets with leaves and flowers that sprouted without human influence and interference (due to confinement). Meanwhile, there is also space and time for some white flowers in the form of palmettos, which symbolise a wake for those who have passed away. Moving upwards towards the canopy, there are hands that harmoniously and chromatically form what remains – the embrace and global welcome of society, because together we all did as much as possible in the spirit of exquisite responsibility, to protect ourselves and others.
Finally, the last part contains a girl embracing time and patience, a symbol of the individual, those who had to be patient, strong and resilient. This attitude derives the point from which the branches sprout. Forming a new and more conscious and kinder society, a chance also to be and to be better. The girl looks at the sky as a symbol of hope and at a bird as a sign of freedom. It is an intervention from below, of growth, of resurgence, and it evokes a projection that x-rays society and the human essence: we have the capacity to take care of ourselves and progress from despondency to hope.