In June 1888, the Belgian poet Emile Verhaeren and the Spanish artist Dario de Regoyos travelled through the rural areas of Northern and Central Spain. They travelled through remote villages and towns, where religious traditions and archaic relationships were still very dominant. The travel report, written by Verhaeren in French, was reflected in a book illustrated by Regoyos with the spellbinding title: España negra (1899). This publication, in which death and dark beauty are very present, gradually became a household name in Spanish culture. Inspired by España negra, the Spanish artist Lola Lasurt followed the traces of Verhaeren and the Regoyos throughout contemporary Spain. She expressed her impressions in a whole series of black and white images: oil paintings on zinc plates and stills from super-8 films. In the exhibition, the works of Lola Lasurt are brought into dialogue with a number of works by Dario de Regoyos.

The work of Spanish artist Lola Lasurt (Barcelona, 1983) is often inspired by the interaction between art, society and history. She uses a variety of media: painting, graphic arts, video, animation, installations and occasional performances. Lola Lasurt lives and works in Barcelona. She studied Fine Arts at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and obtained a postgraduate degree at the HISK (Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Ghent) and at the University of Barcelona. Her work has been exhibited at the Casa Encendida, Madrid (2018), Anouk Villain Art Gallery, Diepenbeek (2016), Galeria Joan Prats, Barcelona (2015); Fundacio Joan Miró, Barcelona (2014). In 2016 she won the Miquel Casablancas Prize.

The exhibition España negra was created with the help of the Archives et Musée de la Littérature (AML), the Province of Hainaut (HCT) and the municipality of Puurs-Sint-Amands.