Aeronautics Interior [Flight]
By Charlotte Stace
This year, The Museu Nacional is devoting a number of projects to the subject of the Spanish Civil War, its art, conflict and memory. One of those is, Aeronautics Interior [Flight], an installation by the artist Francesc Torres. This exhibition brings two life-size aeroplanes to the museum, which are replicas of two types of plane that flew during the Civil War.
Torres became interested in this topic after a visit to the old La Sènia airfield built by the government of the 2nd Republic when the Spanish Civil War began. Very near the airfield is La Sènia Historic Aviation Centre, which houses two of the most significant Soviet aeroplanes from the Civil War.
He decided to make life-size replicas of these planes, yet these do not fly. In the artist’s own words, “a plane that does not fly is not a plane, it is a work of art.”