Jorge Luis Ă lvarez Pupo
selected works 1998-2009 1
Trance
The spiritual world that has the capacity to enliven a work of art is often more important than the work of art itself. “At times it is troublesome that the artwork monopolizes and defines our artistic interest. The works of art are always emanations, consequences, effects that illuminate the life of the individual, the artist,” expressed art critic Orlando Hernandez, clarifying the particular struggle between life and work. Jorge Luis Álvarez Pupo, has developed a body of work representing a universe formed by the rituals of faith through which human beings are able to enter the spiritual world. The images that appear in his photographs are completed in the mind of the spectator through the chain of events of one’s
2
own experiences and remembrances, through the
the first light, like Oloddumare did when created all
manner in which the mystical and interior selves
of nature and human beings, seizing them from the
have been developed, through beliefs and faith
darkness of the reign of Echu. Men appear who
— if not through ritual and prayer then through
fight against the elements in their primitive naked-
thoughts, desires, or “visions.”
ness, on whose faces we see the gaze of terror at the forces of the power of fire shadow, and destiny.
Or simply through the idea that every one of us is formed by the religious collective conscious-
With his photographs, Pupo succeeds in capturing
ness that defines the cultural context of our
every kind of movement — the rhythm of the dance,
country,where those who are not practitioners are
the twisted movements of the possessed as they
not able to avoid the indirect daily contact. Thus
fall in a trance, the slow changes in the firelight,
art openly transmits life to us.
or the lingering form of the imagined moving spirits — like the near imperceptible vibrations that
In these impressions in black-and-white that Pupo
consume the spirit world.
produces in the penumbra of the darkroom, images of human beings emerge from the shadows with
Mabel Llevat Soy Art critic and Curator
3
4
1998-2004
Oggu´s power
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
1999-2009
the way beyond 25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
2002-2007
visions 37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
 i was born
kind of blues
2004-2007 54
I was Born kind of blues is a referential metaphor
instrument, the body as the main protagonist of our
to the Kind of Blue CD kind of Blue by Jazz musi-
existence, it suffers, loves, grows, falls apart.
cian Miles Davis, which transmits feelings of a very diverse nature and states of mind in a kind of ¨ Blues-
This is a body of work with an apparently peaceful
Jazz¨ mixture. The title is an associative appropria-
spirit and visually romantic, but it has a deep charge
tion of two different media which are ¨playing¨ with
of loneliness, it is a visual paradox where the fact
the same emotions. This series is the progression
that you are quietly sharing very close portions of
of two previous ones : ¨ VISIONS¨ and ¨ THE WAY
space with others does not mean you are emotion-
BEYOND¨, where I had and still have the purpose of
ally in plenitude, it is just a ¨ shelter¨ to feel yourself
being part of the speech instead being the speaker.
protected. I am talking about my own conflicts and
Self-reference is a justification that keep me inside
other’s. I’ve kept an interest in manipulating light,
the phenomena I am talking about, a way of watch-
including zones of darkness, shadow (as zones of
ing myself on a mirror instead of pointing into an-
silence), where you whisper to hide your real feel-
other.
ings. It pretends to be piece of a non written diary of people around me, society and myself as part of it.
I want to push out a sensorial discharge of the transformation you pass by in your life, using a body as an
Jorge Luis Álvarez Pupo [May, 2004]
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
work in progress
Silences 71
72
73
74
75
76
77
wandering ways / 78
work in progress
/ caminos errantes 79
wandering ways CamInos errantes
Caminos errantes / Wandering ways is a visual reflection on the theme of migration, on the loneliness of human destiny and the conditional freedom of movement we face on a daily basis. In this essay I establish a relationship between space and individual or the lack of it within the landscape. I concentrate on migrations as the physical change of environment, but also as psychological challenge to understand another culture and yet to keep alive one’s identity, even when moving within one’s own country. On my way to produce this body of work, I´ve wondered many times how I could approach a subject
80
such as migrations, without falling into the trap of
have created a false illusion of isolated and secure
what is easy and evident to the observer, running
private spaces, generating a kind of urban archi-
away from the comfortable environment of either
tectural paranoia in a form of huge blind buildings,
becoming a voyeur of what is visually expected
where psychological barriers are bigger than dis-
when talking about migrations, or either showing
tances that separate physical spaces.
protagonists as “victims” of the process which I´m
part myself.
In this work I create my own imaginary, sometimes using geometric patterns as visual codes to pres-
In several cities of the world, urban expansion is no
ent cyclical mass deployments, overcrowded me-
longer associated with the necessity to generate
tropolis as well as certain areas of tension within
living spaces for individuals who move into bigger
space-individual relationship; in order to show not
cities looking for broader employment opportuni-
only the natural barriers but also architectural and
ties. As fast as the messiness of unsustainable ur-
social ones and also question: Who am I, and
banization is developed, technocrats at metropolis
where do I fit in these new landscapes.
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
Jorge Luis Ă lvarez pupo
Havana City, 1970 Lives and Works in SĂŁo Paulo, Brazil Free Lance Represented by Young Gallery in Brussels
122
Studies • Graduated photography at the International Institute for Journalism ¨ José Martí ¨. Havana, Cuba • MAINE PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKSHOP. Held in Cuba, Taught by some of the most important Photographers from U.S • Photojournalism Workshops 2002, Americas House, sponsored by the British Council. Professor : Collin Jacobson, editor to Reportage. Selected solo Exhibitions 2005 “ I was born kind of Blues ”. Centre for the development of Visual Arts, Havana, Cuba. 2005 “ Invoke Ogoun ”. Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil. 2003 “ 7 days in Toulouse ”, Toulouse Music Festival, France. (Main Artist) 2002 “ Vivencias ”, Concha Ferrant Gallery, Cuba. 2002 “ Visions ”, Fototeca de Cuba. 2001 “ Reunion ”, Africa’s House, Havana, Cuba. 2000 “ Roots ”, Africa’s House, Havana, Cuba.
123
Selected group Exhibitions. 2008 “ Group Show ”, Skoto Gallery, New York 2007 “ Selected Works ”, Skoto Gallery, New York 2007 “ The other side of the Soul ”, Tenerife, Spain 2006 “ Descubrimientos ” Award exhibition, PhotoEspaña-2006, El Matadero, Madrid. Spain 2005 “ The other side of the Soul ”, Kornhausforum, Bern, Switzerland 2005 “ Diaspora Cuba ”, La Saline Royale, Paris, France 2005 “ Alguien nos Mira ”. FNAC photo Collection. Museu Valencià de Il-Ilustració i la Modernitat ( MUVIM), Valencia, Spain 2004 “ Images entre Historie et Poésie ”, La collection photographique de la FNAC. Conciergerie. Paris, France 2004 “ Religions of Cuba ”, Patterson Museum, New Jersey, USA 2004 “ Crosscurrents ”, Refugium Gallery (European month of photography), Berlin, Germany 2003 “ The other side of the Soul ”, Fototeca de Cuba, Havana, Cuba 2003 “ La photographie contemporaine à Cuba ”, FNAC Wilson, Toulouse, France 2003 “ Imágenes Havana ”, Centre for the development of Visual Arts, Cuba 2003 “ Diaspora Cuba ”, (Special mention of the jury) International Biennial for photography, Bamako, Mali 2003 “ Panorama of Cuban Photography ”, National Arts Museum, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2003 “ Pulsiones ”, José Martí National Library, 8th Havana Biennial, Cuba 2002 “ Cuba Today ”, Palm Beach Photographic Centre, Miami. 2003 “ Cuba Today ”, Cornell Museum of Art and History, Palm Beach. (Photofusion-2003). 2002 “ Rituals ”, International Press Centre, Havana, Cuba 2002 “ La photographie contemporaine á Cuba ”, FNAC Etoile, Paris, France 2001 “A winter in Havana”, “ Morro-Cabaña Fortress Gallery”, Havana, Cuba
124
publications • Arte Cubano magazine • Fotografía Cubana Magazine • Washington Post (Interview to Viggo Mortensen) • El Dia, Spain • Art Fórum magazine • Paris Photo Magazine • Photo Magazine, France • Rézo Afrique magazine • Palm Beach Daily News, USA • Photovision Magazine
BOOKs • Les annés Cuba, Editions de L´aube, 2002 • Trance, Santa Monica, Percevalpress, 2003. www.percevalpress.com (included on the Top Ten list in an article on November issue of Art Forum magazine 2004)
• Mapas Abiertos : Contemporary Latin American Photography 1992-2002, Barcelona, Lunwerg Editions, 2005 • El otro Lado del Alma, Switzerland, Oehrli editions, 2005 Collections Museum of Albertina [Austria], Pinacoteca do Estado [São Paulo, Brazil], Govinda Gallery [Washington D.C.], FNAC photographic collection [Paris]. Others private collections from United States, Brazil, Austria, France, Italy.
125