Project by Vladimir Potapov for the Havana Biennale

Until February 28, 2025, the 15th Havana Biennial of Contemporary Art is taking place in Cuba. As part of its parallel program, pop/off/art gallery artist Vladimir Potapov has prepared two projects: the exhibition "The Magical Land of Siwa" and a fresco titled "Cuba Speaks." Here is what the artist says about the exhibition: "When I was little, I collected stamps. On my favorite ones was the word 'Siwa' (that's how I read it back then). Those stamps depicted animals, flowers, birds, athletes, and dinosaurs. I really thought that dinosaurs still lived in that country. Many years later, I opened that album again and saw them. Then I realized that the word needed to be read not in Russian but in English. When I did that, the word 'Siwa' became the word 'Cuba.' So childhood fantasies and naive illusions turned into a real country with its own unique history and culture, but, as it turned out later, without dinosaurs. I am 44, but I flew to Cuba as that 9‑year‑old boy from my own childhood. It was the first encounter of childhood illusions and fantasies with the real Cuba and its people." For the exhibition "The Magical Land of Siwa," Vladimir depicted 41 Cuban stamps from his childhood album on special wooden boards. Each visitor could take any work they liked and give the artist something in return as a keepsake. In this way, Vladimir came into possession of 41 objects, ranging from a hair tie to jewelry. The second part of the project was the fresco "Cuba Speaks," made on the wall of a house on the Malecón waterfront. In it, the artist depicted another stamp showing a cannon stuck in the ground. In Havana, such objects regulate traffic and are part of the everyday landscape, and for the artist they became a symbol of peace. When creating the work, the artist used only two colors — black and white. It was important for Vladimir to integrate the image into the surface so that the warm shades of the peeled wall and traces of graffiti would complement the drawing. Photo: Vladimir Potapov