In this small dimension sculpture, Avelino Sala placed a standard resin reproduction of the greek Hellenistic masterpiece, the- Victory of Samothrace
on top of a pile of untitled books, among which a distinguishable copy of Julio Crespo MacLennan's work on European history, entitled - How Europe shaped the Modern World
. While the fragmented Greek sculpture refers to the origins of Western classical culture and to its wounds, MacLennan's 2018 publication invokes the rise and fall of Europe along with the interval of almost five centuries during which the continent was the epicentre of the World. This contemporary examination of Europe's cultural supremacy and decline assesses several crucial topics such as those of immigration, colonialism and international trade, industrial revolution, democracy and human rights, wars and exile, all key issues in the artist's conceptual work.

Thus, the Mediterranean's history appears to be the common thread between the goddess who embodied the concept of athletic or military victory in Ancient Greece and the broad scope of European modern history condensed within a printed paper work. If the Mediterranean was synonymous with a rich cultural, material and artistic heritage, its aura has been seriously tainted by the outrageous ongoing refugee crisis.

Alongside the senses of glory, dignity and pride, Nike, with her attractive beauty, her large open wings and vertical fluid lines brings forth the ideas of lightness, dynamism, movement and communication, whereas the pile of books with their different shades of grey and dark colours conveys opposite sensations of weight, immobility and closure. Thus, a question seems to emerge from - Samothrace vs Europa
: built on Greco-Roman glorious ruins and facing its contemporary socio-political enclosure, is Europe a failed aspiration?