Rachel de Cuba is an interdisciplinary artist whose work looks at structures’ interwoven role in politics and citizenship in the Americas. María Naidich’s practice addresses a variety of topics that often deal with archeology of the mundane, concepts of nature and material ecologies and classifications. A common ground that surfaced in their conversations was migration as an overarching narrative to their family’s histories and their own. Photography, as a common conduit of memory, then became a suitable vehicle for creation in the context of remote collaboration. It also represented means for connecting their histories to current topics of interest. For example, in the case of María, it mobilized the notion of “Domesticated waters”, a longtime research interest that she has turned into a complex nomenclature that provides conceptual grounds to her projects. For Rachel, printing photography on fabric is a known territory, as she has chosen it recurrently for past projects, as a strong signifier of memory as a fragile, and also fleeting construction.
These shared commonalities lead to the only work presented as a single piece for a paring for the Philladelphia iteration of Where You Left Off. Conta gives us an entry point to the histories of both the artists, visually and conceptually connected through the photographic surface. It is softy printed in a translucent fabric that allows the viewer to discern different relations and overlappings, according to the angle they approach it. The piece evokes different sentiments of memory, nostalgia, but it also references the practices of montage and collage, as methods of bringing to the surface an idea of a fragmented and collective construction of memories and identities.
Rachel de Cuba & Maria Naidich
Conta
2023
Digital print on fabric, wood, fishing string
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Related:
Learn more about this collaboration and watch a video about their conversations clicking here.
Visit Maria Naidich’s professional website here.
Visit Rachel de Cuba’s professional website here.
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Where You Left Off 