Procés — COVID-19 Memorial Sculpture

“Procés” is an outdoor sculpture by Àngel Calvente in Plaça del Solà, at the entrance to Sant Julià de Lòria. It commemorates people who died during the COVID-19 pandemic and the emotional support required of the wider community. The composition places a human figure wearing a mask on a large outstretched hand. Made from resin with marble powder and corten steel, the work was designed to be visible from the busy approach to town; the hand is illuminated at night. This is a public memorial in an urban roadside setting, not a museum or a quiet enclosed garden. Visitors should view it from a safe pedestrian area and must not step into the road or cross a traffic lane to approach the sculpture.

The work is titled “Procés,” or “Process.” Calvente assembled two existing sculptural forms into a new composition: a large supporting hand and a human figure in a lowered, vulnerable posture, wearing a face mask. In the artist’s explanation, the hand represents society’s support for those affected by the pandemic, while the figure brings the subject back to an individual human scale. The visible mask connects the sculpture directly with the period when face coverings became part of daily life. The work was made from resin mixed with marble powder and corten steel, materials selected by the artist and municipality for an outdoor public installation.

The location was chosen deliberately. Municipal representatives said they wanted the sculpture to be highly visible because the plaza carries substantial vehicle traffic. The piece was also intended to remain visible after dark, when the extended hand is illuminated as an offering to those who died. That placement gives the memorial strong presence on arrival in Sant Julià, but it changes how visitors should approach it. The sculpture is better understood from a safe viewpoint along the plaza or public pedestrian edge than by walking directly to the centre of a roundabout or road junction. Follow crossings and barriers, and if no safe pedestrian access is available, view it from a lawful sidewalk rather than taking risks for a closer photograph.

The memorial reflects the first pandemic years through a single compact image rather than an extensive inscription or a list of names. The masked person suggests the bodily vulnerability of illness and the isolation that accompanied public-health restrictions; the supporting hand directs attention to care, solidarity and collective responsibility. These meanings are grounded in the artist’s stated intention and the municipality’s account of the commission. The sculpture does not identify individual victims or provide a chronology of the pandemic, so visitors seeking personal histories, public-health data or a complete record of local losses will need other sources.

Sant Julià de Lòria placed the work in the public landscape of Plaça del Solà as part of its wider programme of civic art. Its size and nighttime lighting make it function differently from a small pavement plaque or an indoor memorial. It can be seen as part of the streetscape while entering town, and a brief stop is enough to read the shape of the composition. There is no ticket, staffed visitor service, interpretive building or fixed visit duration. No separate opening schedule is published for the outdoor work; nighttime illumination is part of its design, but it does not mean that every approach path or surrounding service is accessible at all hours.

Allow around five to fifteen minutes if you are already at a safe pedestrian access point. The exact amount of time depends on whether the sculpture can be comfortably viewed from the pavement and whether traffic or other activity affects the setting. It is not a destination that should require stopping a vehicle on the road or blocking access to nearby properties. Visitors arriving by car should park legally elsewhere and walk to a suitable public viewing point. The sculpture sits close to the town centre and can be combined with a walk along Avinguda Verge de Canòlich, a visit to the Sala Sergi Mas gallery during its opening hours, or time in Plaça de la Germandat, where other public works by Calvente can be found.

The work should not be confused with “Lligam,” another sculptural group by Calvente in Plaça de la Germandat. Both use hands and reflect human relationships, but they have different titles, locations and purposes. “Procés” is the COVID-19 memorial in Plaça del Solà; “Lligam” is a separate public artwork in the central square. Likewise, the sculpture is not a general pandemic exhibition and has no indoor display attached to it. These distinctions help make a short visit more coherent: the viewer sees one focused memorial rather than treating every hand-shaped sculpture in Sant Julià as part of the same work.

Because the subject is bereavement and collective loss, a respectful visit is quiet and brief. Avoid touching or climbing on the sculpture, leaving objects without permission or posing in a way that turns the memorial into a prop. The outdoor location is exposed to weather and traffic noise. Rain, darkness or low visibility can make nearby pavement less safe, and the illuminated hand should be viewed only from a designated pedestrian area. If barriers, construction or traffic management prevent access, do not go around them. The memorial remains visible in the town’s public realm, but safe access takes precedence over standing immediately beside the work.