MIRALDA. HONEYMOON: UNCLASSIFIED

Honeymoon Project (1986-1992) is a project by the artist Antoni Miralda (Barcelona, 1942) that took place through a series of ceremonial actions around the romance and subsequent marriage between two historical monuments: that of Christopher Columbus, in the port of Barcelona, and the Statue of Liberty, in New York Bay. These actions were developed with the premise of creating an intercontinental project that celebrated the exchange of ideas, products and traditions between two cultures located on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as highlighting a naturally antagonistic relationship due to their symbolisms of the conquest of America and the liberation of the United States, respectively. The project was celebrated through more than thirty acts and ceremonials, open to the public and involving thousands of participants; it generated around 40 objects (dresses, shoes, rings and gifts), designed and tailor-made for the monuments, and took place across three continents (Europe, America and Asia) with the involvement of more than 20 cities.

“Honeymoon: Unclassified” is a documentary exhibition that will unveil for the first time the unpublished projects that Miralda conceived within the framework of the Honeymoon Project and that were never realized, presenting a series of original preparatory drawings of the wedding gifts and unrealized ceremonial actions, as well as other documentary materials that contextualise and trace a chronology of the main milestones of the project.

This exhibition is organised on the occasion of the exhibition of the Gondola Shoe (1990-2023) at Bombas Gens: a large sculpture, in the shape of a shoe and converted into a gondola, which was a “gift” from the city of Venice to the Statue of Liberty as part of the list of gifts for this wedding. This monumental piece, custom-made to the foot of the Statue of Liberty, was presented at the Spanish Pavilion of the 44th Venice Biennale and sailed down the Grand Canal. On this occasion, Bombas Gens Centre d’Art will be the venue where the Gondola Shoe will be seen for the first time in Spain.

In connection with the exhibition and the presentation of the Gondola Shoe, a parade will be held in the city of Valencia followed by a series of ceremonial events open to the public.

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Presentation of the Gondola Shoe in collaboration with the Fundación Museo Reina Sofía and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.

Project carried out with the support of DKV Seguros.

Antoni Miralda. Liberty / Carmen Miranda Float, 1985 © FoodCultura Archive