Urban Sarayeye VAPROR – 2059, Automatic Vehicle to Collect Religious Offerings 2010
Urban Sarayeye VAPROR 2059 Automatic Vehicle to Collect Religious Offerings alludes to the profusion of religious offerings left in Cuban public spaces an indication...
Description
Urban Sarayeye VAPROR – 2059, Automatic Vehicle to Collect Religious Offerings alludes to the profusion of religious offerings left in Cuban public spaces (an indication of the pervasiveness of religions with African origins). The removal of the remains of these rituals both impinges upon the religious freedom of the members of Afro-Cuban cults and elicits fear from urban sanitation employees. Here, Esquivel offers a humorous solution; a self-directed robot will eliminate human contact with the offerings.
Curated by Alejandro De La Fuente
Alexis Esquivel co-curated Queloides I and received his Masters in Art Education from Instituto Superior Pedagógico Enrique José Varona, Havana. Described by Cuban art critic Omar Pascual Castillo as “a nonconformist, a smart-mouth, an artist of disturbingly critical crudeness,” Esquivel uses painting, installation, performance, and video art to examine the relationship between power and race in society. His work can be divided into four stages: (1) Historical Portraits, (2) Hysterical Puns, (3) Remaking Maps, and (4) Creole Remix and Latest News from the Sugar Mill. This last series, begun in 2003, “explores the contrivances of a tropicalesque culture made for tourists, a pseudo-liberated culture that disguises the neocolonial” and includes works such as Smile you won!“