Victor Goikotxea: «The fishing port is the root of Xàbia»
Saturday 18th December 2021 – ÁLVARO MONFORT with Mike Smith
The artist Víctor Goikotxea has finished the mural that the council has commissioned to decorate the new parking lot in the port and, on its completion, he visited the work together with mayor José Chulvi, councillor Quico Moragues (Culture) and councillor Marta Bañuls (Port representative).
The artist explained that, after receiving the commission from the municipality, he has tried to capture in the mural “the port of Xàbia, which is something very authentic”. In fact he has assured that, with his work, he intends to help “maintain the historical memory” of the zone and suggested that Xàbia is a port that is “the root” of municipality.
“The fishermen, their work, which can be seen, the forms, the light, the colour, the boats and the water” are a set of elements – explained the painter – that he has transferred to the mural “with a small personal tribute to Sorolla” in the year that marks the 125th anniversary of the Valencian painter’s first visit to Xàbia.
In the mural, the artist has explained that he has painted the two Xorroll boats in two positions when they arrive in the afternoon to unload their catches and when they are docked (front and back, in the corners of the mural) El Terrible also features, the last wooden boat that remains in the port of Xàbia, and two fishermen who are the Xorroll brothers, transferring the fish to the fish market.
Goikotxea has highlighted that he has been guided by the world of fishing and that is why “no sports boat is seen”, the only reference is the silhouette of the Nautical Club building. And to occupy the space of the sports boats, it has had a nod to its land, with a series of boats (in the background colours, red and green) of which can be seen in any port in the Basque Country, more robust than those of Xàbia, since they are boats that travel to the North Sea fishing grounds, among others.
And finally, some women mending nets. “The people who came told me that there were many women who sewed the nets.” One of those portrayed is his own wife, and the other a young woman, but she wanted to focus “on the reddish colour of the nets”, because of the “movement and strength they transmit.”
On the mural, a legend: “Dedicated to the port of Jávea and its people Bihotetz (with heart). Victor Goikoetxea”.
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