Photo Exhibit ‘Habana Color’ Now Open

Yanelys Nuñez Leyva

HAVANA TIMES — As part of the collateral events of the Eleventh Biennial of Havana, the exhibit “Habana color” by Cuban photographer Pedro Abascal opened its doors in mid-May and is showing through the end of June.

Present at the opening were well-known figures of the art world, photographers like Liborio Noval, Jose Julian Marti Montero, Nestor Marti, as well as art specialist Hilda Maria Rodriguez and others.

Students, artists, family members, friends and onlookers gathered at the Espacio Abierto Gallery, of the magazine Revolucion y Cultura, located in the 11th and 4th streets in Havana’s Vedado district.

The photographs on display are the fruit of Abascal’s latest work (2012), as he maintains his interest in urban spaces, mainly in Havana.

Some of these images are constructed from a cubist aesthetic, seeking to capture the different realities that develop at the same instant in a 360 degree radius. To this end, the photographer relies on whatever type of surface that produces reflections: mirrors, windows, car windows, etc.

In this way the photographs become sorts of pieces of puzzles that the viewer must meticulously put together, thus building their own image and interpretation.

The use of color in all of his snapshots — though not new in the work of Abascal (his series “Laberinto” [2006] was also in color) — is certainly not the main line of his work. In his own words, black and white shots offer him “the possibility of using light to draw that mystery that is loved.”

Through remarkable work that began in the 1980s, Abascal seeks to document moments of a society rich in customs, myths and traditions.

The exhibition will run through all of June. Therefore those planning to be in the capital during this month should make it a point to enjoy this photographic look at Havana in full color.