Per Barclay's 'Fluido' installation at the CAC Málaga Centro de Arte Contemporáneo.

Norwegian artist Per Barclay (Oslo, 1955) has flooded the main gallery of the city’s prestigious CAC Málaga art museum with 7,000 litres of oil, creating a conceptual installation that wouldn’t look out of place at the Tate Modern or New York’s MoMA.

Entitled ‘Fluido’, the exhibit – which takes the form of a trapezoidal PVC tank measuring 23 metres long and filled to a depth of 5cm with black-tinted sunflower oil – has been specifically designed for the CAC Málaga, with the opaque liquid reflecting the structure of the building as if it were a vast mirror.

“The first impression a visitor gets is that of seeing a smooth, dark, elegant surface which seems very simple,” says Barclay. “Yet at the same time, a sense of depth is created, giving visitors both a sensation of ambiguity and vertigo.”

The Norwegian artist's works reveal his interest in space and the way of occupying and completely filling it.

Per Barclay’s works have been exhibited at the MGM Gallery (Oslo), the Fondazione Merz (Turin), the Palacio de Cristal at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid), and many other prestigious galleries and museums around the world. He is particularly well-known for his ‘Oil Rooms’ installations revealing his interest in space and the way of occupying and completely filling it.

Per Barclay at the inauguration of his CAC Málaga installation.

“This aspect of his work reveals Edvard Munch’s influence on the artist, whose installations arouse emotions such as anxiety, fear of death and love,” explains Fernando Francés, CAC Málaga director. “Even when using other liquids – engine oil, water, blood or wine - Barclay creates a tension that shatters any sense of calm.”

Per Barclay exhibited his first work in Norway in 1984 and currently lives in Turin and Oslo.

The ‘Fluido’ exhibition runs until 4 September 2012 at the CAC Málaga Centro de Arte Contemporáneo

C/ Alemania, Málaga

Open Tuesdays – Sundays from 10am to 2pm & 5pm to 9pm

T. 952 120 055

If you don’t know your T. rex from your stegosaurus – or even if you do – then how about a visit to the ‘Dinopétrea’ showcase, running at the Palacio de Ferias y Congresos in Málaga until 24 June?

Billed as a scientific, educational and fun exhibition for families, ‘Dinopétrea’ brings together skeletons – and replicas – of dinosaurs that roamed the planet 125 million years ago and fish that swam the seas 25 million years ago, as well as mammals dating back more than 10,000 years.

There are interactive exhibits, too. For younger kids there’s an area where they can dig for real fossils, just like paleontologists do, and if they find one they also get to keep it! Plus there’s the opportunity to open a geode and discover the crystals hidden inside, while also finding out about the Isle of Wight-sized asteroid that ended the reign of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

The exhibition – at Málaga’s Palacio de Ferias y Congresos – is open Mondays to Fridays from 10am to 2pm & 5pm to 8pm; and from 11am to 8pm at weekends.

Whatever you might have been thinking of doing this weekend, put it on hold, ‘cos on Saturday 12 May it’s Málaga’s inimitable Noche en Blanco, when the city will entertain you all night long – and all for free, with more than 150 different things to do, places to visit and people to see…

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If history is your thing, then you absolutely won’t want to miss the Romanorum Vita exhibition, which opens in Málaga on 24 April and runs until 14 June. Faithfully recreating daily life in a Roman city – and Málaga, or Malaca as it was then known was an integral part of the Roman Empire for more than 200 hundred years – with its life-size Roman villa and street, plus all the authentic sights, sounds and smells of the eating places, laundries, bakeries and public baths, Romanorum Vita is a whole lot more than merely another museum piece…

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Spain’s top tribute band, The Pink Tones – formed in Madrid in 2003 by Álvaro Espinosa, guitar, vocals and theremin; Antonio Fernández, drums and percussion; Nacho Aparicio, keyboard; Cefe Fernández, bass guitar and vocals; and Pipo Rodríguez, sax, guitar and vocals – bring their fabulous ‘Pink Floyd Show 2012’ to Málaga this Saturday where they’ll be playing live at the city’s Sala Paris 15.

Among their sets the Pink Tones will be performing some of Pink Floyd’s greatest hits including Another brick in the wall, Echoes, Shine on you crazy diamond, Money, Atom heart mother, A saucerful of secrets, Coming back to life, Sorrow and more…

The Pink Tones performing at Joy, Madrid

And with lasers, smoke, 4-metre tall inflatable figures, Moog synthesizers and all the other paraphernalia that fans of the legendary British band have come to expect, you’ll be thoroughly immersed for more than 2 hours in ‘the echo of a distant tide’.

Tickets (€22.50 & €55 apiece) are available from El Corte Inglés, Sala Paris 15 and TicketMaster

Sala Paris 15, C/ La Orotava 25 & 27, Polígono San Luis, Málaga

T. 952 038 626

Gig begins at 10pm; doors open at 9pm. Ticket holders must be over 16.

Whether you love or loathe its contemporary design, Málaga city’s 60,000m2 Palacio de Ferias y Congresos has got to be one of the most iconic of landmarks on the Costa del Sol. But it’s not just the deconstructivism architecture that sets it apart, because the OPC (Spanish Federation of Professional Organisers of Congresses) have just voted it the best Conference Centre in Spain, with its accessibility, sustainability, versatility, flexibility and the professionalism of its management team all receiving top marks.

Opened less than a decade ago, the venue hosts a wide range of fairs, trade shows, international conferences and other major events all year round. The awards ceremony takes place in Gerona on 15 – 18 February.

Ever since the CAC Málaga first opened its doors back in 2003, one of its greatest ambitions has been to showcase the works of acclaimed South African artist William Kentridge. So prolific that he seems to be everywhere, major showcases have included the Louvre and New York’s MOMA, while he’s also directed operas at the Scala de Milan and the Big Apple’s Met as well as projecting videos in Venice and at the Cannes Festival. But like they say, all good things come to he who waits, and nine years on, Málaga’s renowned Centre of Contemporary Art at last gets its wish…

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The 2012 Travel Trends Report from Skyscanner, one of Europe’s leading travel search sites, confirms that Spain is still the top destination for British holidaymakers – as well as for French, German, Swedish and Spanish travellers – not only heading the list of country searches, but also leading the way with four of the top five city and resort searches with Málaga and the Costa del Sol coming first for the second consecutive year, ahead of Alicante, Tenerife and Palma de Mallorca.

Well worth a read, the report additionally highlights the fact that in 2011 Spain also topped the Post Office Holiday Costs Barometer, showing overall how much money 10 key items in 14 different holiday resorts would set you back. With prices pegged at 2010 levels, Spain came out on top as Europe’s best-value destination.

As a spokesman for the Spanish Tourist Board in London explains, “Despite economic challenges and a shrinking outbound market, UK visitors to Spain are up 8.8% on the comparable period in 2010. Since the first flight-inclusive package holiday to the Costa del Sol in the early 60s, there has been a long history of British families taking their holidays in Spain…

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