NZ Visual Diary - Cuba obsession
celebration of colour
My time in Cuba with Eliana, my younger daughter, was wondrous. We were filled with a powerful mix of admiration and profound sadness. On the latter, the effects of a 60 year embargo on the part of the USA has had a crushing effect, as intended, on the Cuban economy.
I attempted to focus my photography on intimate portraits of people and architecture, so most of my photographs visualise the aesthetics of the built environment and the rhythms of daily life. The dominant visual theme amongst my photographs is vibrance amidst hardship and material disrepair, as the embargo ravages the country.
The Cuban people and the country’s built environment have strained to the breaking point under the weight of the US embargo — there is frustration, daily deprivation and material decay evident everywhere.
But joy, vitality and beauty also abound, with ubiquitous colour serving as totemic marker. Exuberant displays of colour are foremost expressions of cultural preference, and the Cuban colour aesthetic infuses daily life with pulse and passion as evocative as Cuba’s unique blend of Afro-Caribbean music.
Click here to view my Cuba photography portfolio.