Mila Ercoli curated selection – October 2026

Mila Ercoli is an artist in residence at Graner in 2026 with the project “Appear-Disappear”, as part of the research programme.

The responsibility that comes with recommending readings. It feels like taking responsibility for and sharing an “something” that has moved you, that has accompanied you intimately. Something that has seduced you. I feel very fortunate to have been invited by Raquel and to be able to leave a trace in the Graner Library.

To be very, very honest, I have never been particularly drawn to reading. It has always been very difficult for me. As I read, the sentences and words would take my mind towards other connections and imaginaries, and I would forget what I was reading, until I came across texts that began to resonate with my creative interests. Finding books and texts has been a search for my adult and migrant self, without a clear objective, order, or end. I began going to bookshops simply to look at titles and covers that caught my attention. In this way, I came across references, ideas turned into words, sentences written by people who were interested in, thought and felt similarly to what moves me, and who felt the need to leave a record through writing.

When I read, I search, find, lose my way, open myself up, get inspired, question myself… I let go, search again, reread, imagine, think in images, and then let go of the words again, keeping with me the feeling or the idea of what I have read. It is true that I have finished and read very few books from beginning to end, perhaps none. But that does not mean there are not texts that accompany me. It simply means that each text is a different experience, and I like finding my own way of living through them.

To begin the task of choosing the four books, I looked at the selection made by the artists who came before me. And yes, I relaxed quite a bit, because at first I felt an enormous responsibility, since, from my perspective, texts and words are not really my thing. In fact, writing this text and sharing it is itself a great challenge: putting my thoughts and emotions into words. It is pretty intense to write something knowing that it will be published. I think this is the first time I have done it.

The second thing I did was look at the Graner Library website to see what I could choose, what that archive could offer me. And so, without having anything specific in mind, I came across Asymmetrical-Motion by Lucas Condró and Pablo Messiez. An inspiring and visual text for me, where every page I opened at random gave me a mental image and a physical sensation that led me to remember an experience lived through the body-mind, or to imagine an idea or experience that opened up spatial and bodily possibilities. I should say that I have taken classes with Lucas, so it feels more familiar to embody his words.

The second book is Skies by María Jerez and Edurne Rubio. This book came to me last year, at the presentation of Varamo Press in the context of the Salmon Festival. I picked up the book because I did not know it existed (I know María and we have worked together), and when I saw it, it was an absolute connection. Yes, I am very visual, and opening María’s book and encountering those images was something I had not expected. And so it has accompanied me: at different moments I open it at random and conn