Dehumanization in Machine City: A Reflection from the Cuban Experience
Art, in its purest form, is a mirror of our experiences, a reflection of the realities that shape our perception of the world. In my case, these realities are deeply intertwined with my life in Cuba, a country where oppression and control are the dominant forces. My series "Machine City" emerges from this reality, inspired by life under a totalitarian regime that shapes not only daily existence but also the very essence of humanity.
In Cuba, I grew up in an environment where freedom was an illusion, a word that lost its meaning under the shadow of constant surveillance and repression. From an early age, I witnessed how power was exercised in an omnipresent manner, affecting every aspect of life. This absolute control, exerted by those in power, is what inspired me to create "Machine City," a series of ink drawings on paper that explores the dehumanization that occurs when human beings are reduced to mere components within an oppressive machine.
"Machine City" is a visual metaphor for how power structures grow and expand, absorbing everything in their path until there is no room left for individuality or freedom. In the story underlying this series, narrated in my poems from "The Parable," Adam and Eve, after being expelled from paradise, begin to build a machine. This machine, initially simple, grows and transforms, eventually evolving into a city: the Machine City.
This narrative is an allegory of the reality I lived in Cuba, where the regime began as a promise of equality and justice but quickly transformed into an oppressive structure that controlled every aspect of life. The Machine City I depict in my drawings is an extension of this idea: a system that, although seemingly designed to serve the people, ends up absorbing their humanity, turning them into cogs in a soulless machine.
My ink drawings capture this transformation. Each line is a testament to the loss of freedom and the growing alienation experienced by those who live under oppressive systems. As the machine grows, the human figure in my drawings shrinks, disintegrates, and ultimately becomes lost within the gears and mechanisms of the Machine City. This dehumanization is a reflection of the experience of those who, like me, have lived under a regime that leaves no room for autonomy or individuality.
When I emigrated to the United States, I encountered new forms of oppression. Although different in nature, these forms of control are also represented in the Machine City. The machinery of power does not disappear; it simply changes shape, adapting to the context in which it finds itself. In my drawings, this is reflected in the ever-increasing complexity of the Machine City, which continues to grow and envelop its inhabitants, no matter where they are.
"Machine City" is a deeply personal work. Through it, I attempt to capture not only my experience in Cuba but also the reality faced by many immigrants upon arriving in a new country. The feeling of being trapped in a system you cannot control, of being reduced to a number, to a function within a larger machine, is an experience shared by many who have left their homeland in search of a better life. My drawings are a reflection of this struggle, of the constant battle to preserve humanity in a world that seems designed to strip it away.
But despite the darkness surrounding the Machine City, my work also contains a message of hope. In my drawings, though the human figure is trapped, it is not completely destroyed. There is always a vestige of resistance, a fragment of humanity that refuses to be entirely consumed by the machine. This small vestige is the core of the hope I try to convey through my work. It is a reminder that even in the darkest moments, humanity has the capacity to resist, to fight against oppression, and to seek a path to freedom.
Ink, with its ability to create strong and defined contrasts, is the perfect medium to capture this duality. Through its use, I can represent both the oppression of the Machine City and the silent but persistent resistance of those who refuse to be entirely consumed by it. My drawings, though deeply rooted in my personal experience, are also a universal call to resistance, an invitation to all those who feel the weight of oppression to find their own way to fight.
In summary, "Machine City" is an exploration of the dehumanization that occurs when human beings are absorbed by power structures that reduce them to mere cogs. Through this work, I attempt not only to capture my experience in Cuba and as an immigrant, but also to offer a critical reflection on the nature of power and resistance. I invite each viewer to immerse themselves in this world, to explore the details of the machinery, and to find their own interpretation of the message I am trying to convey.
My art is, ultimately, a form of communication, a way of expressing what is often difficult to put into words. In "Machine City," each drawing is a piece of a larger puzzle, a part of a story that continues to evolve and that, hopefully, will inspire others to see the world differently.