Join us for Ephemeral Havana, Eternal Havana, a photography exhibition by Xinyi Wang on the streetscape and people of Havana, Cuba, organised by the Newnham Arts Society! ALL are welcome!
ARTIST’S TALK: 7 PM, 10 MARCH
EXHIBITION: 8–16 MARCH
Both in Barbara White Room, Newnham College.
The exhibition, in Xinyi’s words:
From my trip, I’ve collected a glimpse of Havana, of Cuba.
I’m not sure when the exact moment comes that I see Cuba—perhaps when the fading light stings the skeletons of the buildings? When two boys wave to each other, one on the balcony, one on the ground, his red T-shirt blazing against the turquoise wall? Or when I step into the fruit market, where a girl slowly pulls out a giant avocado and softly says, “It’s a gift.”
In Havana, I have felt astonished, searching for words and expressions. We are often conditioned to offer a single explanation for a place or phenomenon. But here, in Havana, everything feels multi-layered, polysemous.
Beauty mingles with devastation. Struggle intertwines with hope. This exhibition is a record, a collection of voices I’ve gathered. I speak to them for my hesitation, for my ignorance. Perhaps this is the only thing I can do: attempt to capture a few fleeting images of Havana, where I see a shadow of eternity.