Cuba in Blue: A Time Capsule of Elegance and Echoes
These images, captured during my travels to Cuba in 2016, speak to a country suspended in time. From the preserved charm of Hemingway’s guesthouse to the sultry stretch of the Malecón—where young adults gather at dusk to enjoy the breeze, classic cars hum by, and street musicians serenade the salt air—Cuba holds its past close. Even the architecture speaks in metaphor: at the University of the Arts, one studio rises in a somewhat scandalous curve, like a secret whispered through design. The land pulses with sensual memory, revolutionary ideals, and creative resilience. It’s a time capsule—romantic, cracked, and enduring with both pride and longing.
The cyanotype process, with its roots in early photographic history and reliance on modest materials, felt like the perfect match. In a country where resources are limited and innovation is constant, this historical technique honors the spirit of adaptation and nostalgia. Hand-coated and exposed with digital negatives under UV light, each print becomes a portal—an image allowed to travel back in time, echoing the layered history of the place itself.
