A family Album.
The poetic and fascinating journey of Carolina Sandretto unfolds within the special world of the so-called “solares”, while focusing on the human figure captured in its individuality and relationships with others, while the living space becomes the co-protagonist, both as private and public place. As an archaeologist would do, Sandretto has explored places where time and memory have transcended the objects that they touched and transformed them.
This body of work is a further investigation inspired by the aesthetic and conceptual concerns that accompany the notion of place and the artist’s preoccupation on memory and collective past. Indeed, place is one of the most important concepts of contemporary cultural and philosophical anthropology. Nevertheless, as a global world becomes increasingly placeless, new concepts are being introduced: the abstract and virtual are conquering a concrete place, forcing us to rethink the importance of cultural landscapes and its genius loci. The work of Carolina Sandretto often relates the concept of place to territory and identity, and throughout the lenses of her camera, she reveals the relationship between places and individuals, reminding us how strongly a place holds people and living experiences, a sense of belonging, as well as history and culture.
Cuba. Vivir Con, while focusing on the human figure, depicts many intimate living spaces in Cuba, a tropical country of 11 million people, stuck in a kind of time capsule.
Indeed, Cuba has been living under the American embargo for the last 64 years. The living conditions due to the embargo are extremely difficult for the population. The regime provides for education and food but people are forced to live in the same houses as their families as they are not allowed and do not have the means to buy or construct new ones. During the last six decades people took over old houses once belonging to people now gone or deceased and transformed them into Solar. A Solar is a multifamily and multicultural entity that represents the layers and the complexity of the contemporary Cuban society. Often inhabited by as much as 30 different families, Solar houses in small tiny apartments that once where rooms, all sort of people. From young families to elderly people everyone lives and cohabits in small spaces with almost no privacy. Thru a series of portrait executed with a medium format camera Carolina intends to documents this Solar and to focus on their inhabitants and their living spaces. Cuba. Vivir Con is also a book published by Silvana Editoriale in a limited numbered edition of 600.
“The human figure is the focus of attention, captured in its individuality and relationships with others; the co-protagonist is the living space, also considered in a two-fold sense, as both a private and public place. Starting with these essential elements the fascinating journey of Carolina Sandretto unfolds within the special world of the so-called solares.” Walter Guadagnini, Sentimental Portraits text in “Cuba. Vivir Con”
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