The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer ranks Spain as one of the most polarised countries in the world, sharing the category of severe polarisation with five other nations. The continuous clash of one ideology against another has established a binary citizenry, with little room for other thoughts. This polarisation fosters hatred, generates social fracture, and acts as a stimulus for electoral campaigns. Aware of this, political leaders stoke confrontation by offering an identity, defining the enemy to defeat, and constructing narratives that reinforce the "us" against "them".
Social polarisation has become so normalised that it has infiltrated supposedly unifying institutions, such as the Congress of Deputies. There, each parliamentary group speaks through its representative. In the effort to intensify polarisation, some of these interventions are so theatrical they could be described as performance or action art. The display of decontextualised objects, gesticulations, grimaces, offensive gestures, threatening demeanour, clothing with protest symbols, shouting, the exhibition of banners, and the abrupt interruption of the opponent's speech are common practices within the chamber. This behaviour not only reveals a lack of argumentation, the absence of dialogue, and the erosion of tolerance. It also turns the Congress of Deputies into a kind of social network where anything goes, further fostering social division and hatred among the public.
"Fabula" is a visual project born out of concern for the social polarisation fuelled by political behaviour in the Congress of Deputies. The primary goal of this work is to expose parliamentary conduct and promote civility through imagery, raising awareness among the political class and the public of the need to cleanse democracy by eliminating hatred and fostering respect for all people, opinions, and democratic ideologies.
Each of the 15 pieces that form the project is an image of a member of parliament, captured during their intervention in one of the plenary sessions held between the XI Legislature (2016) and the XV Legislature (present day). This image is a mosaic measuring 160x90 cm, composed of 6006 tiles. Each tile is one of the frames that make up the recording of the MP's parliamentary intervention. Seen from a distance, the image shows the theatricality of the intervention. Viewed up close, the frames that contextualise the moment the image was captured become visible. It is a work in continuous development, reflecting on political behaviour and its impact on society, constructing a narrative through post-photography, meta-photography, and contemporary image analysis.
"Fabula" is a term used from the 3rd century BC in ancient Rome to refer to any theatrical work performed in semi-circular theatres.
