Álora artist turns 130 local faces into paintings to raise money for Alzheimer's families

José Antonio Antúnez has chosen precisely this approach to portray Álora, with around 130 people linked to the town featuring in 'La mirada de un pueblo' (A town's gaze), an exhibition which opens on Friday 4 September at the La Cancula exhibition space.

The exhibition brings together a gallery of local figures, both past and present. Well-known residents, familiar faces and people who have left their mark on the town form a collection that aims to go beyond the individual portrait. Together, they create a collective portrait of Álora, built not with a camera but brushstroke by brushstroke.

The paintings will also have a purpose beyond the exhibition itself. They will be put up for sale, with all proceeds going to the Asociación de Alzheimer de Álora.

The fundraising element adds a particularly symbolic dimension to a project centred on memory, with the paintings preserving the faces and stories associated with the town while raising money for families affected by Alzheimer's.

Antúnez has spent his life alongside painting, but only after completing his professional career was he able to devote himself to it more fully. The resulting body of work has now culminated in one of his projects most closely connected to the municipality.

As Tomás Salas writes in the text accompanying the exhibition, "a town is landscape, history, culture... but, above all, it's its people". In this case, those people are firmly at the centre of the exhibition.

The subjects are recognisable, but Antúnez has not attempted to reproduce them as if they were photographs. His figures contain an element of unreality and his own interpretation as he seeks something more difficult than simply copying physical features: identifying what distinguishes each person.

It offers a particular perspective on people who, in one way or another, have helped shape Álora's everyday identity.

For just over two weeks, Álora will have the opportunity to look at itself through more than 100 paintings, putting names and faces to a local history usually told through dates, buildings and events.

'La mirada de un pueblo' can be visited from 4 to 20 September at the La Cancula exhibition space, with the opening ceremony scheduled for 8pm on Friday.

Normal opening hours will be Monday to Saturday from 10am to 1pm, with an additional opening period on Fridays from 5pm to 8pm.

Paintings purchased during the exhibition can be collected after it ends. When the paintings eventually leave the exhibition, they will serve one final purpose by turning those portraits into support for people living with a disease that can threaten the memories the exhibition seeks to preserve.