In the late 19th century, textile colonies emerged along the Llobregat River in Catalonia. These self-contained communities integrated factories, worker housing, and communal amenities, forming microcosms of industrial life.
Operating under a paternalistic system, they offered low-cost welfare in exchange for exploited labor and restricted freedoms. The perceived benefits of this dynamic cultivated obedience and compliance among workers and their families, reinforcing structures of control.
By the 1970s, the decline of the textile industry left these colonies in crisis. Factories fell silent, infrastructures collapsed, and once-thriving communities became spectral remnants of their industrial past.
“The river is a loom, the thread is a mountain” examines the layered histories embedded in these landscapes, developing a symbolic archaeology that uncovers traces of power, hierarchy, and class.
Through the deconstruction and reinterpretation of archival images as textile patterns, the project interweaves visual and material elements from these spaces. By integrating historical imagery into the framework of textile production, the work reflects the systemic structures of power that shaped these colonies, linking the repetitive, disciplined labor of their inhabitants to the lasting imprints of exploitation.
This process also mirrors the fragmented nature of memory, prompting a deeper interrogation of the constructed narratives that shape our understanding of history.
By juxtaposing the residues of industrialization with the enduring presence of nature, the work explores how the identity of these colonies is shaped by the tension between past and present, fact and fiction. The landscape’s anachronistic quality further invites a reflection on the interplay between historical and mythological narratives, revealing how collective memory is continually rewritten.
Joel Jimenez (b. 1993, Costa Rica) is an artist and filmmaker based in Madrid, Spain. His interdisciplinary practice combines photography, film and installation, integrating historical research and environmental psychology to explore the complex dynamics between humans and their surroundings. His work focuses on spaces with layered identities and stagnant conditions, challenging linear historical narratives and dissecting the imprints of trauma and power embedded in these landscapes.
His work has been exhibited internationally, including PhotoEspaña (Madrid, 2021), PhotoVogue (Milan, 2025), Paris Photo (Paris, 2024), Les Boutographies (Montpellier, 2022), among others. He has been featured in publications like British Journal of Photography, Der Greif, GUP Magazine and Revista Balam. He is the recipient of the Paris Photo Carte Blanche Étudiants Award (2024).
His films have been screened in festivals such as Aegean Film Festival (GR), INTHEPALACE Film Festival (BG), D’A Film Festival (ES), Signs of the Night (TH), and ARKIPEL Jakarta International Documentary and Experimental Film Festival (ID), among others.
Instagram: @joelr.jj
