Txema Salvans. My kingdom
Publisher: Mack
Published: 2015
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9781910164372
Description: In 'My kingdom' Txema Salvans considers the climate of power in contemporary Spain, splicing together the sentimental political rhetoric of Juan Carlos I, former King of Spain (1975&#x96;2014), with a set of black and white photographs of ordinary Spaniards, enjoying the Mediterranean coast.00In his speech, Juan Carlos I plays the role of the good-natured sovereign, his language drenched in authority and affect, a king whose tender rule legitimises a democratic monarchy. The speech is a socio-political filter through which the gestures of the beach goers are seen &#x96; the hopes, the indolence and aggression, people parading their own small sovereignties: the freedom to nap, eat, sunbathe, play, suffer, love and show their individuality. Power, as something embodied and enacted, permeates both the king&#x92;s speech and the interactions of ordinary people, every summer, on the overcrowded, ugly and inviting beaches of the real Spain.