The Chimney

News From Home · The Chimney

At the beginning of the 20th Century hundreds of active factory chimneys spouted ash over the Barcelona cityscape. The industrialization taking place during this time was particularly notable in Sant Andreu where many textile factories were located.

During this period, these factories formed the heart of the community, not only employing thousands of people but also functioning as the centre for social life through the football fields, tennis courts, childcare and swimming pools they provided. The sounds of the factory became part of city life, with people today recalling fondly the rhythmic symphony of the textile looms, the routine sirens heard across the city signalling the beginning or end of a shift, and the sounds of people moving to and from the factories.

From the 1970s on, the factories in Sant Andreu would suffer from the ‘textile crisis’ which saw textile increasingly produced elsewhere and the re-conversion of many outdated factories. Slowly declining, by the early stages of the 21st century most factories had closed. Today the brick architecture of the former factories, once the heart of the community, are being demolished or repurposed. No longer do the factory’s routine sounds sing out across the neighbourhood, with the community forced to find new employment and a new identity.

Walking through Sant Andreu today, one will occasionally encounter a lone brick chimney amongst the architecture. No longer do they spout ash or have a functional purpose, and often their aging bricks are precariously held together by scaffolding. Today, these chimneys sit as silent reminders of the community’s former industrial glory.

In this work the local community of Sant Andreu was encouraged to re-engage with one particular chimney located at Fabra i Coats, a former textile factory now turned creative hub. Engaging with this usually overlooked architectural structure, participants were asked to imagine it’s former life.

Staring up at the silent chimney, various residents were recorded making a sound which they imagined this chimney might have made. These responses went beyond language barriers, evoking a performative and emotional engagement with this object. These community contributed sounds have been layered on top of archival recordings from the Sant Andreu factories, creating a soundscape of past and present, real and imagined.

Before listening to this work, you are encouraged to view this chimney and make your own auditory response.