Pollença exposes the photographic soul of Javier Inés, photographer of the pre-Olympic Barcelona

PollençaThe cloister of the Sant Domingo de Pollença convent was transformed this Sunday into a space filled with memory, images and music with the opening of the exhibition Javier Inés, the young photographer (1956-1991)An exhibition that celebrates the figure of a creator ahead of his time, rediscovered decades after his death.

The exhibition, which can be visited for two months from Monday to Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., brings together a representative selection of Javier Inés's photographic work, as well as personal objects, such as his first camera, and a photograph of his work.

The exhibition is the result of a long process of preservation and recovery. For over twenty years, the artist's partner, Juanjo Rotger, safeguarded Javier Inés's photographic archive in Pollença, until gallery owner Rocío Santacruz rediscovered his work and brought it to international attention with its presentation at Paris Photo and ARCO Madrid. Now this legacy returns to the island in the form of an exhibition organized jointly by the Museu de Pollença and Rotger himself.

The opening ceremony included speeches by the director of the Pollença Museum, Andreu Aguiló; the Councilor for Culture, Miquel Àngel Sureda; the Mayor of Pollença, Martí March; and Juanjo Rotger, responsible for bringing the photographer's work to life. Aguiló emphasized that one of the main functions of museums is "to give visibility to works in the best possible way," an objective that, he stressed, has been achieved with an "excellent exhibition in an unbeatable location." The museum director added that for the next two months "the cloister of Sant Domingo will be filled with souls" and asserted that, if Javier Inés were alive today, "he would be one of the great figures of photography at the national level."

The exhibition is divided into various sections that allow visitors to explore the photographer's different creative stages and interests. There are spaces dedicated to ballet, photomontage, and Ibiza, as well as a section focused on Barcelona in color, which portrays both the pre-Olympic city and the social elite and illustrious figures of the time. Another of the most compelling sections is the one dedicated to Barcelona nightlife, with images captured in legendary venues like KGB and Universal, key locations for the alternative culture of the 1980s.

With this exhibition, Pollença not only recovers the work of a singular photographer but also restores the voice of a creator who knew how to observe his era with a unique sensitivity.