The New Man and my Father
(2015)
Filmed in Cuba
Video, HD h.264, colour, stereo,
5:53 min
watch video on Vimeo
Shot in Cuba in May 2015, a couple of months before the US and Cuba restored diplomatic relations, ‘The New Man and my Father’ is an interview between the artist and his father. Growing up during the Cuban Revolution the artist’s father represents a generation that still remembers the inspiring period of Fidel Castro’s rise to power, the strife for a utopia and convinced by old victories still respects the system without questioning it. On the other hand, the artist grew up during the crippling economic crisis of the ‘Periodo especial’, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and he represents the younger generation that has lost faith in the Cuban government and communism.
During this interview, the father is asked about the Cuban Revolution, recent political changes in the country and the possible outcomes of introducing capitalism after sixty years of the US’s embargo. The father is instructed to contemplate the answers in silence. The questions aim to confront his father’s fundamental beliefs, his fidelity to Castro, and the current socialist system’s sustainability for the generation to come. Throughout the interview, his father’s body language and facial expressions betray his increasing frustration and present a conflicted man coming face to face with change. In these six minutes of silence, palpable tension between old dreams and new hopes is manifested and the gap separating the two generations perhaps made more evident. Text by curator Denise Araouzou
During this interview, the father is asked about the Cuban Revolution, recent political changes in the country and the possible outcomes of introducing capitalism after sixty years of the US’s embargo. The father is instructed to contemplate the answers in silence. The questions aim to confront his father’s fundamental beliefs, his fidelity to Castro, and the current socialist system’s sustainability for the generation to come. Throughout the interview, his father’s body language and facial expressions betray his increasing frustration and present a conflicted man coming face to face with change. In these six minutes of silence, palpable tension between old dreams and new hopes is manifested and the gap separating the two generations perhaps made more evident. Text by curator Denise Araouzou
