1988-90

I had always been fascinated by the romanticism of saints, the role of rituals, and the incorporation of superstitions and Santaria in the Cuban version of the Roman Catholic faith. Gold and black lace became the two symbols that I selected to reflect the importance of religion in my past and in Cuban culture. Black lace not only incorporated an interesting set of contradicting symbols between religion and sexual seduction but the veils also allowed the vehicle for layering of images.

The lace patterns and ink washes became an important binder for the symbols. The overlapping symbols represented the complexities of thought in our memories. The layered images were organized so that the older or less prominent memories were presented in a diffused manner in the background while the more important memories were more defined and placed in the foreground. All the layers were important in the formation of the painting as each memory or experience was integral to how I envisioned my life.

Series consisted of 67 drawings and 69 paintings.

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