Marta Ibarrondo

Raised in the Catholic faith, Marta Ibarrondo has long reflected on the exclusion of women within ecclesiastical structures. The absence of female leadership—from papal and priestly roles to the historically subordinate status of nuns—is deeply rooted in biblical doctrine.

These hierarchies are not incidental but are the product of texts that, for centuries, have legitimized gender inequality under the authority of divine law.

To explore this subject, Ibarrondo juxtaposes sexist vintage advertisements with biblical verses, exposing the continuity between religious and commercial narratives of gender roles. While these vintage ads now seem silly and outdated—reflecting how advertising has evolved over time—the sexist verses from the Bible remain unchanged, still claiming divine authority. In some works, she superimposes the titles of biblical verses in bold capital letters over the ads, emphasizing the ways in which religious doctrine and mass media have historically reinforced one another. In others, she applies 20 layers of acrylic paint over actual Bible pages, systematically erasing all text except for the passages that explicitly relegate women to positions of submission. This physical process of concealment and revelation mirrors the weight of tradition, showing how its influence endures, even as its mechanisms become less visible. By isolating and recontextualizing these texts, Ibarrondo compels a confrontation with the ways in which language upholds power structures.

Through her work, Marta Ibarrondo poses critical questions: How do sacred texts shape social hierarchies? What stories do we inherit without questioning? And what remains when we strip away the accumulated weight of tradition?

— Base