Media: Installation

Artist collaboration: Alan Perez and Ermelinda Duarte

Artist: Alan Perez

My research began with sketches drawn from a boat, tracing the contours of Gorham’s Cave and the rugged cliff face that cradles it. At the Gibraltar Museum, I studied artefacts unearthed from the cave, each object offering a quiet insight into the lives, habits, and behaviours of those who came before us. Visiting the Gorham’s Cave Interpretation Centre deepened my fascination, particularly with the ways early humans interacted. One engraving, etched into the stone, lingered in my mind—it may be one of the most compelling glimpses into Neanderthal creativity and expression.

Mark making has always been at the heart of my practice, and in those ancient gestures, I felt a tangible connection across millennia. Collaborating with Ermelinda Duarte, who shares my curiosity about human behaviour and the traces we leave behind in nature, history, and human interaction, we explored these echoes of presence and memory. Our installation weaves together drawn and imprinted marks as a dialogue with Gibraltarian identity, showing records of time, evidence of presence, and the enduring thread of human connection.

Artist: Ermelinda Duarte

The installation explores the idea of imprints as records of time, presence, and human connection.  By collecting negative imprints of the rock using clay from various sites where people commonly gather, the project captures not only physical form but also the accumulated time and energy left behind within these spaces, preserving traces of human interaction with the landscape. The locations chosen for the imprints hold both historical and social significance. These include the South Point of Gibraltar, the surrounding areas of Gorham’s Cave, and coastal sites such as El Rolli, El Quarry, Little Bay, and the Upper Rock. In the same way that Neanderthals had specific gathering sites, contemporary humans continue this behaviour by forming meaningful connections in shared spaces. Through these imprints, the project draws a parallel between past and present, highlighting how the landscape continues to hold evidence of human presence across time.