The London based organisation a/political opened The Foundry on the 13th June, in Maubourguet, France. Located west of Toulouse, The Foundry is situated 50 kilometres from the Pyrenees mountain range.
Traveling to France from Denmark, the new space opened with ‘The Copenhagen Declaration’, a collaboration by Jens Haaning and Santiago Sierra. The sentence TIRED OF THIS GLOBAL SADISTIC REGIME comprises 31 black painted wooden letters, each measuring up to 360 x 250 x 100 cm. Installed in the central epic scale room, the statement forms a dialogue with The Foundry’s political history.
Founded in 1870 by Jules Fabre, the iron foundry mobilised during the First World War to produce armaments and military equipment for the National Defence. After the war, the secluded industrial area became a centre for Communists. Emigrating from the Fascist regimes of Franco and Mussolini, an international immigrant community developed, working together under a shared identity and ideology.
Recently converted, The Foundry is now an experimental art space, hosting ambitious projects outside the controls of the contemporary art market. Artists will be invited to produce large-scale work in the neighbouring factories. In addition, a/political will acquire artworks for permanent installation at The Foundry to compliment the collection currently located in London.
