Cartografia Besòs

Since 2007, Eva Parey has been building a visual archive of the communities that inhabit the Besòs territories, tracing the social, cultural and urban transformations that have shaped the periphery…

Cartografia Besòs is a photographic project by Eva Parey that builds a visual archive of the communities settled in the Besòs territories. Its route follows the river from the mouth to the mountain slopes and draws a human map marked by displacement, roots and survival strategies.

Beyond its geography, the project raises questions present in many contemporary cities: the capacity to receive newcomers in the face of demographic growth, identity and social inequalities. The territory bears traces of the mass arrival of population from other parts of Spain and of rapid urban expansion, with large housing estates built on former farmland and riverside landscapes.

These processes are joined by new waves of migration from Latin America, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, driven by the search for work, family reunification and displacement caused by conflict. The visual narrative begins at the mouth of the Besòs, with the Tres Xemeneies, during the final years of operation of the thermal power station.