In February of 2002 I finally returned to my home island of Cuba after an absence of 40 years. I spent two weeks bicycling 500 miles around the central provinces of the island and one week on Pilgrimage to the Eastern tip of Cuba, to the shrine of the Virgin del Cobre. The trip was exhilarating, affirming, poignant and bittersweet. I fell in love with the island and it’s people but also witnessed the extraordinary frustrations that these capable and talented people suffer under Castro’s iron fist.
I wanted the new work that I created to honor the spirit, innovation and resilience of the Cuban people and to weave in both my family’s and the cultural history of the island. After months of false starts I started a multimedia sculptural installation that has numerous elements. The piece will be a room size (approx 14X14) installation within a larger gallery space, it will read as an island within the space of the exhibition room.
On the outside of the installation will be a piece about the Malecon ( Havana’s famous ocean boulevard) and a collection of clay “siren” heads ( see images). The floor of gallery will become a sea and on it will be sculptures addressing the American embargo and the constant perilous migration by sea the island has had since the revolution. The interior will be a domestic space with handmade toys and sculptural furniture. An audial element with personal narration and music will be an integral element of the entire installation.
Please explore the work in progress and excerpts from the journal of the trip. I welcome your responses.
AF 5/26/03
Flores, along the Malecon, Ocean Boulevard of Havana, Feb. 2002
