(Havana seawall promenade) in search of the Wizard of Oz … or the lost illusion
Carlos Nicanor (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1974) is an artist who is passionate about three-dimensionality. His aesthetics, unmistakable in the Spanish visual universe, is novel object to our context. Thus, Nicanor ¨lands on an island after a tornado where reality becomes marvelous” and manages to enter the long and distinguished list of creators who are part of the ambitious project ¨Detrás del Muro: En el Medio de la Nada¨ (Behind the Wall: In the middle of nowhere), side exhibition of the 12th Biennial of Havana (May 24-June 21, 2015).
Having his presence in Cuba and appreciating his work is a unique and unforgettable opportunity; from all the pieces, some interactive and some other contemplative, the national and international audience was captivated by a yellow road of cobblestones made of wood that traced a route from inside Maceo park up to disappearing into the wall of the Malecon. The spectators, s educed, began a “utopian” journey in search of the end of the trail to seemingly find answers to their questions and discover their dreams and illusions. We all become Dorothy, a literary character created by L. Frank Baum and taken to the cinema by Victor Fleming in 1939. Two starting points taken by the artist to perform the installation Lemon Way (2015), in which we aspire and hope, also, to find prosperity, development, and well-being; however, “everything is a trap, an optical illusion that is located beneath our feet.” All roads lead to Rome, but the one of Nicanor ends in the sea behind the wall; a wall that from its construction to the present time’s point of reference in the urban imagery of the island; a wall, which in turn, is converted from silence in a space of meetings and partings, joys and sorrows, where great friendships can be born and die.
The creator himself, faithful to his sculptural tradition and admirer of Brancusi and Giacometti, masters of European avant-garde, conceived this trail to form an intrinsic part of the audience, without them the work does not meet its duties. It is also said that Carlos is a Brossian sculptor, and that his installations are designed always to dialogue with the culture and environment in which are going to be inserted; it is really a fictional gesture whispering without using words. Therefore, without realizing, we are passing through an invisible space between delusion and reality, where the poetic magic lies in the entire Carlos Nicanor´s production.
We all want to know who Wizard of Oz is, but only he has our responses. You should walk across the yellow road of the Malecon and perhaps, with imagination and luck, you manage to discover his innermost and necessary desires in order to continue transcending in a world where light and darkness go together, only we are able to choose who is with us.
I found unforgettable friendships at the end of the road
