Barbacoa, Vedado 2004

Editor: This is Stan Douglas's "Barbacoa, Vedado," a photograph in the Tate collection. The architecture looks so grand, but also decayed. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The photograph powerfully frames the ongoing tension between Cuba’s revolutionary ideals and the realities of economic hardship and neglect. The architecture speaks to a colonial past, now crumbling, yet still present. Editor: So, the decay isn't just about aesthetics? Curator: Not at all. The peeling paint and structural degradation become metaphors for a society grappling with its identity, where the weight of history presses against aspirations for a different future. Editor: That gives me a whole new perspective. Thanks! Curator: It highlights how photography can capture not just a place, but a complex social and political narrative.