AIM Biennial 2023-24
The A.I.M. Biennial is a conceptual program promoting outdoor ephemeral, virtual, and physical art projects by cultural practitioners based and affiliated with the state of Florida.

2023
Second hand t-shirt and lace textile (t-shirt-mask)

Proposal
Virgilio Piñera said to Fidel Castro: Yo no sé ustedes, pero yo tengo miedo, mucho miedo (I don’t know about you, but I am afraid, very afraid), 1961. One of the most brilliant Cuban writers would die in Havana (1979), after years of being ostracized. Exposing Virgilio is a photographic register relating to the practice of Carnivalism (an exercise of liberation, revindication and catharsis). It has been performed in France, where I am currently located, yet, still longing to be in my home of Havana, a place I cannot return. The sense of loss and errancy, which is not the same as a change of context, are the consequences of a dictatorship being in charge in one’s country of origin.
To activate and participate in Carnivalism, a common t-shirt was transformed into a t-shirt-mask by sewing lace fabric into an image of Virgilio Piñera with see-through. An inside pocket was sown into the shirt for an individual’s head when used as a mask.

Location: Saint-Étienne, France
Desired Location: 14th, 1st Avenue. Miramar, Havana, Cuba

Example video of Carnivalism practice: