Visual artist and researcher Bibiana Martínez Torrecilla, a member of the Institute on Robotics and Information and Communication Technologies (IRTIC) at the University of Valencia, a centre within the scientific and academic area of the Science Park of the University of Valencia (PCUV), has been selected to take part in the 16th mulier, mulieris Visual Arts Biennial with her large-scale installation Mujer Cardumen, one of 18 proposals chosen from 190 national and international entries.

The work has also received a second accolade, having been chosen by the Museum of the University of Alicante (MUA) to represent its participation in the Network of museums for equality (RMI) campaign to mark International Museum Day 2026, under the slogan “Together we are stronger”.

The mulier, mulieris 2026 exhibition can be visited until 19 July at the Sala Sempere at the MUA. Since its inception in 2007, this biennial has established itself as one of Spain’s leading platforms for artistic research into new female imaginaries, bringing together works that address gender issues from contemporary, multidisciplinary and innovative perspectives.

More than simply a depiction of a school of fish, Mujer Cardumen is a mural installation comprising 300 hand-modelled ceramic pieces, their forms evoking the diversity of the female body. Arranged in a large circular composition, the pieces form a topography of mutually supportive presences, creating a symbolic landscape in which each element only acquires meaning in relation to the others.

The reference to the school of fish is not figurative, but conceptual. Just as schools of fish draw their strength from the group, the installation invites reflection on women’s support networks, care, affection and collective resilience. “Mujer Cardumen was conceived as an invocation of the collective forces of feminine nature. This work celebrates sisterhood and the invisible network that unites women moving forward together, like rivers flowing towards the sea,” explains Bibiana Martínez.

Materiality plays an essential role in the installation. The work is made from different types of stoneware produced in Manises, some fired in a gas kiln and others left in their bisque state, using kilns belonging to three artists whose practices and workspaces came together in the creative process.

The 16th edition of mulier, mulieris attracted 190 submissions from national and international artists, of which only 18 were selected to form part of the exhibition.

The call for entries, organised by the Museum of the University of Alicante, seeks projects that explore new representations of womanhood through contemporary art, using a wide range of media including video, photography, drawing, installation, bioart, ceramics, textiles and sculpture.

The selected works reflect on issues such as discrimination in the workplace, the invisibility of women creators, the transmission of care, memory, the social construction of beauty and ageing. In this context, Mujer Cardumen is one of a number of projects that use visual metaphors to explore sisterhood, resistance and care as pillars for building more inclusive societies.

Having graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, specialising in Sculpture, from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, where she also obtained a Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA) and is currently undertaking her doctoral research, Bibiana Martínez has, over more than 25 years, built a unique career that combines technological research and artistic creation. Since 1999, she has worked as a research technician at the IRTIC at the University of Valencia, taking part in numerous national and international R&D&I projects.

Her research is carried out within the ARTEC group, which specialises in interactive graphics, virtual reality and augmented reality, where she has contributed to the development of immersive environments, interfaces, 3D modelling and animation, and multimedia applications aimed at fields such as education, cultural heritage, museology and contemporary art.

Alongside her research work, Bibiana Martínez has built a solid artistic career centred on sculptural installation and contemporary ceramics, understood as material and symbolic processes through which she explores the relationship between the body, territory, memory and community, integrating technology as an extension of three-dimensional thinking.

Original news article and further information at the Science Park of the University of Valencia