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Carlos Garaicoa

La Palabra Transformada (The Word Transformed), 2009

CARLOS GARAICOA
LA HABANA, CUBA, 1967
La palabra transformada (The Word Transformed), 2009
Madera, metal, objetos trouvés, manta de corte y cinta adhesiva cortada a mano / Wood, metal, found objects, cutting mats and hand-cut adhesive tape
Ocho cajas de luz / Eigth light-boxes, 94 x 63,5 x 10,5 cm cu / each. Mesa / Table, 75,5 x 696,5 x 100 cm Instalación. Medidas variables / Installation. Dimensions variable
Adquirido / Acquired 2014

Carlos Garaicoa explores the way architecture and propaganda are intertwined in Cuba, a country where the ruins of a former capitalist order are metaphorically augmented by the promise of a better future, per the ubiquitous government’s indoctrination campaigns. Confronting the limits of a utopia, he also reflects in more general terms upon the city, its decay and its constant evolution. Core to his practice is a reference to architecture, which has a great influence on both his thinking process and the formal resolution of his work. Drawings, blueprints, maquettes, or cutting mats constitute an essential part of his formal vocabulary.

Garaicoa has also worked on-site and altered photographs with ink, pencil or cotton thread and needles. Such images appear in the series of light boxes, featuring ghost buildings that bear Garaicoa’s own slogans and reflect upon the condition of culture in his homeland. The accompanying collection of cutting mats, lying on the tables, presents various
two-and three-dimensional architectural plans and experiments.

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The artist

Carlos Garaicoa

Habana, Cuba, 1967

Garaicoa employs a multidisciplinary approach to refer to cultural and political issues, primarily of Cuban concern, through the study of architecture, urban developments and history. Although his main theme has been the city of Havana as its stands today, his geographical horizons have been expanded to embrace media including installations, video, photography, sculpture, pop-up books and drawings.

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