Diango Hernández’s practice is at best described as ‘conceptual’: inspired by versions and visions of many lived realities. It is deeply rooted in his Cuban upbringing of the 1970-80s and is therefore well versed in the attitudes and visual semantics of the Soviet era. Objects are found, materials are (re)appropriated and political rhetoric is handled with lived intelligence, subtle humour and personal sentiment. Blood Mountain Foundation, a private non-profit arts organisation based in Budapest, invited Diango Hernández in November 2010. His poetic approach and Hungary’s own history as a former Soviet satellite state were an obvious match. Three tireless weeks of looking, finding, assembling and re-appropriating materials from flea markets, antique dealerships and a specialist artisan workshop went by. The resulting exhibition, a kiss, a hat, a stamp, became a tribute to the city’s age-old tradition of independent creative practices and its rich culture of second-hand goods. Diango Hernández (born in Cuba in 1970) founded the art collective Ordo Amoris Cabinet (The Order of Love Cabinet) while pursuing a degree in industrial design at the Superior Institute of Design in Havana in the mid 1990s. During this time, he commemorated Cuba’s plight against Soviet influence with an unprecedented and ongoing display of re-appropriated and quintessentially Cuban everyday objects. With increased possibilities travel and exhibit, he began to formulate an independent artistic language and ongoing relationship with Europe. Following extended stays in Italy and Spain, he moved to Düsseldorf in 2003, where he continues to live and work. Publisher: Distanz Verlag
Editor: Blood Mountain Foundation (Jade Niklai)
English
21 x 28 cm
70 pages, approx. 70 color images, softcover
ISBN 978-3-942405-28-7
