This book originates in the exhibition ¡Aquí hay petróleo! curated by Jaime Vindel and Gemma Barricarte and organized by the Círculo de Bellas Artes, the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).
¡Aquí hay petróleo! explores the relationships between fossil fuels, contemporary forms of power, and imaginaries of desire. It focuses on the cultural history of fossil modernity in Spain—particularly during the Franco regime—tracing a genealogical line that connects past and present. Through numerous images drawn from various state and private archives, it reveals how the dictatorship generated a set of cultural imaginaries intended to ward off and overcome the perception of backwardness in its incorporation into the rhythms of industrial modernity.”