polaroids depicting spaces of grief and loss, of consolation and contemplation, of isolation, of recovery and healing, of resilience and of curiosity
On this day fifteen years ago, I arrived in this country. Since then, every year that passed marked a new level of growth, of expanded consciousness, and of increasing awareness. Today, I contain within me fifteen of us, in addition to the ones from before December 17th of 2009.
For the past five years, I have taken many polaroids. I found polaroids when I needed photography to be analog and instant. Since then, taking polaroids became a deliberate and serendipitous act, that allowed me to connect with my context, and process my emotions at any given moment in my time.
In general, I have been photographing for ten years. Back in Havana, my mother used to photograph the street scenes of our daily urbanity. We lived in Centro Habana and I remember going to the market with her, and returning with a mother in awe. She would say ‘mira esta foto’ or ‘look, today I took a great photo’. I remember some of her photographs. Despite her joy, life in Cuba was difficult and our transition to the US was very desired, mostly for the sake of mine and my sister’s future. My mother stopped photographing as she used to, fifteen years ago, when we arrived in this country. I recognize that I continued with photography where she left off.
More recently, my polaroids depict spaces of grief and loss, of consolation and contemplation, of isolation, of recovery and healing, of resilience and of curiosity. These spaces are found in the day-to-day moments of my time. By seeing the polaroids as a body of work, I recognize my ability to transform the intimate ordinary into the necessary beauty always around us. These polaroids are worth gazing into. The exhibition is composed of two walls at LOT-EK: one with photographs and another one with concrete tiles. While one wall is yellow, the other one is black. Both walls face each other. On the yellow wall, polaroids are arranged as thoughts within me. The yellow wall in content and organization shows the daily work it takes me to remain hopeful, loving and grateful. To photograph, I simultaneously look out at the world, and inside, to us.
In contrast, the black wall lays out concrete tiles, which speculate about events occurring in between
polaroids. If polaroids are the instant representations of uncontrolled moments of intimacy, the concrete tiles are synthesized understandings of longer, and more conflicted periods of my time. As such, the series of concrete tiles show more pain and rupture than serene resolutions.
For All of Us is an invitation to reflect on your times alone, leading to the conception that good times alone amount to respectful times together. The recognition and peaceful coexistence of us in me, is connected to the Us in For All of Us.
For All of Us is also a celebration. After all, For All of Us includes all of me.