This year, I traveled to Barcelona, Spain. From that trip, and from a previous one to Cuba, the work Gaudí in Revolutionary Havana emerged — a piece that symbolically blends both worlds.
During this same period, new visions began to trouble me in my life in the United States. Basic concerns like food, clothing, or transportation either disappeared or became much easier to manage. But other, more subtle worries began to settle in my mind — like the overwhelming dependence on smartphones.
I was beginning to understand — and fear — the influence and power of commercial brands, even politics turned into a brand. In short, I was discovering and starting to grasp a new world that, at times, dazzled me, and at others, left me feeling completely lost.
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New Man in School . 2018
Technique: Digital photography, digitally intervened on a computer.
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New Man in Caffe Bar. 2018
Technique: Digital photography, digitally intervened on a computer.
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New Man in Airport . 2018
Technique: Digital photography, digitally intervened on a computer.
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New Man Draiving . 2018
Technique: Digital photography, digitally intervened on a computer.
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New Man in Gym. 2018
Technique: Digital photography, digitally intervened on a computer.
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Other Works from This Year
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American Pop. 2018
Technique: Digitally photography (edited on PC).
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Ilussion I. 2003
Technique: Digitally photography (edited on PC).
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Ilussion II. 2003
Technique: Digitally photography (edited on PC).
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Diptico Ilussion. 2003
Technique: Digitally photography (edited on PC).
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Poi. 2018
Technique: Digital Covered-Photo Syllabism: Poison. 2018
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Son. 2018
Technique: Digital Covered-Photo Syllabism: Poison. 2018
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Diptico Poison 2018
Technique: Digital Covered-Photo Syllabism: Poison. 2018
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The Cultured Cat. 2018
Technique: Digital Photography
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Gaudí in Revolutionary Havana
Mixed media: digitally and manually intervened photography
In this Art Work, Nadal Antelmo builds a symbolic and visual bridge between two contrasting urban realities: the fantastical chimneys of Antoni Gaudí at the Güell Palace in Barcelona, and the socialist-era apartment blocks of Alamar, a housing district in Havana.
The project is based on original photographs taken in both locations, later intervened with threads, pills, and everyday Cuban materials. Each image is visually split into two planes: the lower half captures the raw, precarious reality of Alamar’s daily life; the upper half imagines a surreal world where Gaudí’s towers are recontextualized as expressive, chaotic structures—chimneys that release psychic pressure, dry clothes, or become totems of Afro-Cuban syncretism.
With this work, Antelmo reimagines Havana as a surreal cityscape where architectural fantasy and urban decay collide, offering an ironic reflection on post-revolutionary failure and the enduring ability of the Cuban people to dream amidst collapse.
Gaudí in Revolutionary Havana. 2018
Technique: Digital photographs taken in Cuba and Barcelona, digitally assembled on a computer, and intervened with objects.
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New Man was exhibited in Made in Miami, Miami, USA
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New Man, exhibited in Made in Miami. USA. 2018
