Pilar Albarracín (Seville, 1968) was one of the key creators in the renewal of artistic languages in Spain during the nineteen-nineties. In a scene hitherto dominated by painting and sculpture, her work pioneered the use of photography, performance or installation as a means of artistic expression, and has contributed to formulating some of the fundamental questions for understanding the evolution of artistic practices in recent decades. In 2021, the artist presented at the CGAC and in the framework of the second edition of the Plataforma Performing Arts Festival, the Pilar Albarracín. Pilgrim Actions exhibition.

Artistic creation offers other interpretations that can surface emotions or meanings hidden in our subconscious. Recontextualising or repositioning elements belonging to the sphere of the everyday not only makes them visible, but also gives them a new meaning.

Mandala (Arc en ciel) (2012) is part of a larger series of five other pieces currently in the collections of the CAAC in Seville and the MUSAC in León. Exhibited in the CGAC hall, the work consists of a set of used panties of different colours and sizes arranged in concentric circles. In this context, women's undergarments take on a new and deeply symbolic meaning, modelling a sacred universe where the individual and the collective are harmoniously combined.

The geometric configuration of the mandala gives the artist the possibility to simultaneously show the different meanings hidden in her work. Magic circles, the eternal return, the sacred and the profane are some of the themes implicit in a piece that invites us to ask questions and, at the same time, offers us answers about the female body.

Through the collective participation of women from different horizons, backgrounds, ages and morphologies, the artist has managed to create a unique and plural whole that represents the beginning of a new world.