Ciudad en Ascenso 02

From the gallery card:

Installation by Roberto Diago (Cuban) Ciudad en ascenso, 2009. Wood, textile, rubber, metal

For many people in Cuba, finding and forming shelter is a persistent activity. American embargoes on trade with Cuba, coupled with the loss of support from the former Soviet Union, as well as the worldwide economic crises of the last half-century, have exacerbated the decay and decline of domestic infrastructure in Cuban cities. Diago, an artist known for using everyday, found materials such as sheet metal, charred wood, and jute coffee bags, created Ciudad en ascenso, or Ascending City, out of fragments of tiny makeshift houses from neighborhoods on the outskirts of Havana. Resident of these homes are similarly marginalized; Diago's rising houses enact his hopes for a future in which these citizens may transcend their legacy of privation.