Simon Manfield // England

SIMON MANFIELD BBC ARTICLE

Memoria Histórica

In the summer of 2003 I volunteered to document the excavation of a Spanish Civil War era (1936–39) communal grave in the northern province of Asturias in the hamlet of Valdediós. We expected to unearth twenty-nine bodies of medical staff from the relocated La Cadellada psychiatric hospital. Once exhumed the remains would be returned to families who, with steadfast patience, had waited 66 years for the opportunity to rebury their relatives with honour. The remains of eighteen were eventually recovered. I created these drawings in homage to those families.