Duos in Barcelona

Una ofrena a la ciutat que estimo, i per a tu, que l’has trobada.
Una ofrenda a la ciudad que amo, y para ti, que la has encontrado.
An offering to the city I love, and to you who found it.

This year I came back to Barcelona after some time away, and the strangest thing happened — the city wrapped itself around me like a blanket. That’s the only way I can describe it. It held me.

From the very beginning, this project was meant to be a gift to Barcelona. Maybe that’s why I ended up drawing pairs. Once I started looking, the city was full of people holding onto each other — hands held, arms linked, someone leaning into someone else. A couple who’ve walked the same streets for fifty years, two friends deep in conversation, a mother and her small child, two boys in love, a woman and her dog. Different kinds of love, different kinds of closeness, all given the same weight. I wanted to catch that feeling of being held, of moving through the city next to someone.

I photograph pairs of people around Barcelona, always from behind. Partly so nobody is identifiable — these are strangers who never agreed to be in anyone’s artwork, and I want to keep their privacy intact. But also because it turns each pair into a kind of collective portrait of the city.

Then I rebuild them as appliqué collages, layering paper I’ve painted myself. The final image keeps the feeling of the moment but none of the identifying details — the buildings are real corners of Barcelona, the pairs are real, everything else is remade by hand — which is another layer of distance between the photograph and the final image.

I had them printed as postcards at a lovely printing house La gran impressió in Barcelona, on thick matte paper that feels good in the hand. And then I started leaving them around the city — on benches, on café tables, on windowsills, in parks. If you come across one, it’s yours. You can keep it, send it to someone, leave it somewhere else for the next person. Whatever it wants to do next is up to you. If you do find one, I’d love to know your story ❤️

Thank you, my dearest Anna Dzenis, for beautiful photographs of the process. Some people show up with a camera and quietly make everything more beautiful. She’s one of them ✨

The project continues on Instagram: @cutthedeck
If you found one, I’d love to know where — hello@asyaaseeva.com