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Author: Konrado Mugertza. Image from the exhibition and publication “Zura eta ura”.

The substitution of wood for synthetic materials in shipbuilding has led to the disappearance of colour in fishing ports and, imperceptibly almost, to a loss of identity too.

Colour is a characteristic of boats and fishing ports in all corners of the world; and certain colours, as well as shapes and specific elements of the ships, are what distinguish ports from one another everywhere. In Basque ports, for example, the prevalent colours are blue, red and green; rarely will we find any black or yellow in them. This set of colours must be a reflection, to some extent, of a way of understanding the world, something that developed over time until it become an expression of identity.

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