The inspiration behind the title of Fina Miralles’ exhibition I AM ALL THE SELVES THAT I HAVE BEEN arose during a conversation between the artist and curator Teresa Grandas. The phrase is Miralles’ own words, but Grandas expands upon it describing how it represents the relationship between art and life. It is a title that captures a past tense and a process that has developed over time; it is inclusive, offering something we can all relate to in our own selves.

To experience an artist’s practice through time is a journey, especially when encountering the diverse range and depth of Miralles’ world, a world that is spiritual, contemplative and empowering especially when one considers how she pursued her practice during a time of dictatorship and strictly gendered hierarchies. In Miralles’ works we see actions that are political, such as Imatges del Zoo (Zoo Images, 1974) which positions the human and domestic realm into the context of animal cages, a space where freedom is limited. The documentation of the action Translacions. Dona-arbre (Translations. Woman-Tree, 1973) shows part of Miralles’ body ‘planted’ into the earth—she is alive and growing. These works are only a few examples of how Miralles challenged expectations, she took things out of context and put them into a new one, thus challenging the pre-established order of society.

Through the exhibition, we are introduced to her ideas, reactions and how she made visible that there is power in doing the unexpected and not following the norms of society. During these times of uncertainty and sadness in the world, it is important to nurture dialogues, to offer support to others when they need it and to remember that the relationship between art and life is essential to support as a way to understand where we are now.