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This page contains a set of materials relating to the exhibition El otro lado del alma: Syncretisms in Contemporary Cuban Photography. A set of images and articles from the exhibition catalogue:

Moritz Neumüller, The Other Side of the Soul: Die andere Seite der Seele

Natalia Bolívar, Gods Without Masters: Herrenlose Götter 

Eugenio Valdés, Discordant Illusions: Unstimmige Illusionen

Magaly Espinosa, Physical Rituals. Displaced Memories: Körperliche Rituale. Übertragene Erinnerung

Cuban culture has often been described as a product of a syncretistic process, in which the Afro-Cuban cults play an important part. These religions originate from the intermingling of African spirituality with Spanish Catholicism and beliefs of the native inhabitants. El otro lado del alma (the other side of the soul) was produced in cooperation with the Fototeca de Cuba, Havana’s Museum of Photography. It is the first comprehensive exhibition on the role of syncretisms in contemporary Cuban photography and video art. At the same time, the subject serves to contrast two vivid photographic traditions on the island: On the one hand, the great achievements of Epic Photography which are still widely present in reportages and journalistic photography. On the other hand, contemporary Cuban photography and video art are often seen in the context of New Cuban Art and neo-conceptualism. These new approaches have largely substituted the documentary viewpoint in recent art exhibitions and publications. This exhibition catalogue, however, presents a wide range of different contemporary positions reflecting el otro lado del alma, the other side of the Cuban soul.

Moritz Neumüller, curator of the exhibition

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