Jable Pardo

Viele Grüße aus Canaria

Extractivismes. 13th Leandre Cristofol Art Biennial (2025). Curated by Maria Íñigo Clavo and Christian Alonso. La Panera Centre for Art, Lleida. Image: Rodri Rulló

Image shows glass sculpture, Fictions of the primitive II, by FRAUD. — Fictions of the primitive II, 2020, FRAUD, glass melted from sand sourced from Playa Mogán (Gran Canarias), glass blower Torsten Rötzsch and Louise Lang. Photo: Hannah Jung.

Photograph & plan of the Berlaymont building (European Commission headquarters) in Brussels, Belgium. As the urban legend goes, the Berlaymont building’s striking resemblance to the EURion pattern is not a coincidence. The latter is used to prevent counterfeiting, appearing on many banknotes such as the Euro, the Moroccan Dirham and the British Pound.

View of Playa Taurito (Gran Canarias) where sand was sourced to make the glass on the 21st of May 2020. Tourism is curtailed by pandemic. Photo: Secret attaché.

Showing glass blowing glory hole in the process of making the piece 'Fictions of the Primitive'. — The process of glass blowing the 'Fictions of the primitive' pieces, by glass blowers Torsten Rötzsch and Louise Lang.

Image of the piece 'Fictions of the primitive II' made in 2020 by FRAUD with glass melted from sand sourced from Playa Mogán (Gran Canarias). — Fictions of the primitive II, 2020, FRAUD, glass melted from sand sourced from Playa Mogán (Gran Canarias), glass blower Torsten Rötzsch and Louise Lang. Photo: Hannah Jung.

Image of the piece 'Fictions of the primitive I', glass in the shape of a gánigo. — Fictions of the primitive I, 2020, FRAUD, glass melted from sand sourced from Playa Taurito (Gran Canarias), glass blower Torsten Rötzsch. Photo: Hannah Jung.

View of Playa Mogán (Gran Canarias) where sand was sourced to make the glass on the 21st of May 2020. Tourism is curtailed by pandemic. Photo: Secret attaché.

Glass piece shown with archaeological measuring tool. — Fictions of the primitive II, 2020, FRAUD, glass melted from sand sourced from Playa Mogán (Gran Canarias), glass blower Torsten Rötzsch and Louise Lang. Photo: Hannah Jung.

Glass piece shown with several archaeological measuring tools. — Fictions of the primitive I, 2020, FRAUD, glass melted from sand sourced from Playa Taurito (Gran Canarias), glass blower Torsten Rötzsch. Photo: Hannah Jung.

Exhibition overview of the work, 'Jable Pardo - Viele Grüße aus Canaria', on show at HBK Gallery. — 'Jable Pardo - Viele Grüße aus Canaria', Exhibition overview at HBK Gallery, 2020, FRAUD. Photo: Martin Salzer.

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With gánigos made of glass melted from Gran Canaria’s sand, Jable Pardo develops a spatial enquiry into the illicit mining of substrates in Western Sahara to engineer the world’s largest artificial beaches. The vessel replicas are a testimony of the continuum between extractive operations, the instrumentalisation of archaeological evidences, and tourism-led development operating as propaganda during Spain’s Francoist Regime.

The pre-historical claims defended by regime officials over the Canary Archipelago served to validate the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco and Western Sahara. These regions were abundant with resources such as phosphate rock, smooth Saharan sand, abundant fisheries or onshore oil deposits. In parallel, the islands were fashioned as sandy Hesperides by tourist propaganda, with associated re-development used to legitimise the last and only authoritarian regime in Europe. Jable Rubio (yellow sand), is the name given to the sand that blows from the Western Saharan desert over to the islands. Beyond a testament to EurAfrica rebranded, Jable Pardo confronts the vision of the Sahara region as the ultimate crucible for the European civilisation du loisir (leisure civilization), where evidences and propaganda glow bright with extractivism.

Jable Pardo is supported by HBK Braunschweig BS Projects and the Canada Art Council.

HBK Gallery [Braunschweig, DE]

La Panera Centre for Art [Lleida, CAT]

http://jablepardo.tours/