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The young independent artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has designed a “project for an impossible monument,” consisting of a postmortem image of Fidel Castro, constructed to a small scale, reported Diario de Cuba.
The creator explained that his goal was to desacralize the figure of the former president, who impacted the lives of several generations of Cubans, while also prohibiting the construction of monuments bearing his likeness.
“He decided, in one way or another, the lives of millions of people, and now we cannot choose what we want to do with him. We are forbidden from the personal way we want to remember him or not. That is why this work is born.”
"With her, I aim to humanize that character whom so many admire or hate, and to show that he was a human being with flaws and virtues. If you notice, the monument is quite shabby, basic, and goes against those immaculate and retouched images that television presents," Otero added.
The visual artist sculpted two small images of the former leader in ceramics, which are part of a larger project featuring a giant figure of Fidel made of papier-mâché. This work will be exhibited outside of Cuba.
Due to his questioning initiatives regarding freedom of expression in the artistic field, Otero Alcántara has suffered arrests and threats from the State Security of Cuba.
Another of their initiatives is the independent organization of a Havana Biennial, which is set to take place in 2018. The official one was postponed by the cultural authorities on the Island to 2019.
He also directs the Museum of Dissent in Cuba, a digital platform that, according to its creator, offers a journey through the history, art, and literature of his country, showcasing the work of authors who have faced some form of confrontation with political or cultural systems.
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