Later works (2004-2006)

Indeed, after learning how to work with computers and the Photoshop programme the previous year, she carries out experiments and produces the first works that will represent the last turning point in her artistic career. Six works from the series “El paso del tiempo [The passing of time] will come out in a exhibition that, along with three other artists- Vicente Cardá, Luz Darriba and José Antonio Navalón- will take place at the Factoría del Perro Verde (located in Calle San Pedro, Madrid) in October. There was not any catalogue of the exhibition. These works would be released in a posthumous publication: the Cuaderno de Color de Telos (nº 73, 2007), the Fundación Telefónica’s magazine dedicated to the social impact of new technologies. It includes a notebook of artworks which either reflect on the topic of the magazine, or use these technologies as a means of expression. The Cuaderno de Color where Pilar’s work appeared was by chance the last one published, as the format has changed since. This granted it a historical nature.

Her heart starts to show signs of exhaustion and she spends more and more time at home, working at the computer, not going to the studio. The fact is that the new technique allows her to do that. However, she is getting more and more tired and the increased medication, especially anticoagulants, causes memory loss. In addition, she has to take care of her aunt and godmother, Catalina, who suffers from senility. She is an example to her and a preview, through someone from the previous generation, of the stage of life she was reaching. The passing of time and memory- familiar as well as collective- become the themes of this last phase. And aunt Catalina is the protagonist in several of them.

Three works from ‘El Paso del Tiempo’ participate in her last exhibit, a collective, travelling exhibition at the beginning of the year, whose first stop is the Centro Cultural de las Artes de Alcorcón [Alcorcón Cultural Centre]: “Eva: desde Marilyn a Madonna” [Eva: from Marilyn to Madonna]

On February 2nd, Pilar undergoes her second heart surgery, eighteen years after the first one, at the Clínica Montepríncipe (Boadilla del Monte). Again, she is offered several options and she chooses the newest and riskiest, which on the other hand, guarantees a better quality of life in the following years. The surgery takes almost five hours and this time three valves are replaced. According to the surgeon, it went well. However, an hour later, some complications occur at the ICU. Pilar cannot survive this second time and she passes away at midnight.

On February 4th, in the morning, she is buried in the cementerio de la Almudena (the largest cemetery in Madrid), as it was her wish.