Sants-Montjuïc

1,500 ceramic pots hang from a wall. They look as if they might fall to the ground at any moment. The originality and profound symbolism of this mural make it a unique decorative work in the centre of the performing arts complex, the Ciutat del Teatre. As people stop in front of it they wonder what painful past these ceramic pieces have endured?

Roughly handled, chipped and broken, the pots that make up the mural designed by Frederic Amat to decorate the Ciutat del Teatre, seem to have had a hard life. Some 1,500 glazed earthenware pots emerge from the claret-coloured back wall of the Mercat de les Flors theatre. They were put in place in 2001 and are reflected in the windows of the Institut del Teatre building, where they also cover a section of the interior wall.

An eye-catching ensemble that is 30 metres long and 17 metres tall, which the Barcelona-born artist created with painstaking attention to detail. Each pot was hand-thrown and distorted out of shape by the artist when still malleable before being fired at a high temperature in the kiln. When placed together, the pots create a curious, brutal tapestry that captivates visitors to one of Barcelona's main theatre complexes.