Rotterdam Bienalle 2005: ‘Water’. Jon Tugores presents fictional-documentary ‘Mallorca Klein’.

At the request of the Rotterdam Biennale’s curators, Jon Tugores presented a fictional documentary about a hypothetical intervention on the Mallorcan coast. A project that would destroy part of the Balearic coastline. It was presented as a veiled protest against a real intervention planned by a major developer whose intention was to create theme park with no regard for the island and its environment.

The documentary originated from an invitation by Manuel Gausa, curator of the 2005 Rotterdam Biennale, who suggested I present the book we published in 2004, titled ‘Mallorca Boom’*, together with Jordi Bernadó.

Mallorca Boom was a book that looked to the past, admiring the best and not-so-good aspects of the island. A book of opinions, observations, and some conclusions. Rotterdam was meant to address the future, pre-criticism, positioning, and pre-urbanism. I wanted to see how powerfully we architects can oppose things we usually criticize and virtually demolish in blogs or conferences… only once they are built.

A difficult decision, but a certain sense of ‘intervention’ suggested I create a documentary about an outrage about which I had ‘something more’ than just information. A multinational group, headquartered in Germany, planned to develop the east coast of Mallorca, rendering the island’s unique character irrelevant and transforming it into a grotesque and politicized (in its worst form) mini-Dubai, shaped primarily by German desires and premises. The macro-project, under the laconic name of ‘Mallorca Klein’ (Little Mallorca), was to fragment an area near Porto Petro, where a massive marina shaped like the Balearic capital would serve as a global attraction for investors who would see themselves as co-creators of the Mediterranean’s reconceptualization.Construction of ‘Mallorca Klein’ remains halted to this day.

The documentary was presented in Rotterdam.

It was never shown in Mallorca; an initial verbal agreement for a premiere in Palma was canceled by political pressure.

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/164903370

With: Emfasi (Pere Manent, director), Antonio Font, Jaume Freixa, Lluís Jubert, Torsten Massek, Sandra Kirtley, Toni Tugores, Alex Juan, Santi Juan Juan.