On Monday 29 December the EmpordàNA’T exhibition, a showcase of the natural protected areas of the Empordà region, finally opened in the Farinera Ecomuseum in Castelló d’Empúries, in the presence of the Catalan Minister of Culture, Ferran Mascarell, and the Mayor of Castelló.

The 80 linear metres of this exhibition contain hybrid panoramas constructed from photographs and hundreds of illustrations, as well as almost 500 text boxes. Two years of hard work were necessary to create what turned out to be the longest, most forbidding and most painful project of my whole professional career.

We worked with an excellent graphic designer (and great cousin), Eric Milet, a wonderful set-builder from Figueres, Guille Góngora, and the indefatigable and always upbeat team from Roger Fotocomposició

(Roser, Lurdes and Lluís) who were in charge of the printing, all under the flexible and optimistic supervision of the staff from the protected areas involved in the project. Other people such as Santi Font, Eduard Marquès and Josep Clotas helped too with their priceless (and unpaid-for!) photos.

Here you’ll find a few photos of the ‘making of’.

And here a few more of the finished product.

I hope you will take the chance to visit the exhibition if you are in Castelló d’Empúries to discover EmpordàNA’T for yourself. It’s an excellent way of getting a feel for the natural, cultural and scenic values of the protected areas of this part of Catalonia, presented in images chosen with the utmost care and in the best possible taste.