De la serie ‘createurs de Adamu’ 2014

Curator: Well, this portrait by Carlos Sablón, “De la serie ‘createurs de Adamu’,” created in 2014 using oil paints, strikes me as strangely compelling. There’s an undeniable surreal quality to it. What’s your take? Editor: Immediately, the figure’s direct gaze and unusual headdress command attention. It's a curious blend of historical portraiture and surrealist fancy. It also feels somewhat dreamlike. Curator: It certainly plays with familiar historical visual language. The artist employs the composition and dress of Renaissance portraiture and juxtaposes that with surrealist elements—it becomes a kind of cultural commentary. It feels like an invitation to question fixed interpretations of the past. Editor: Absolutely, and I see many symbols at play here. That headdress is clearly referencing some kind of esoteric system. Also the figure has a strange pendant, and a puppy. Each could be its own universe of meaning, reflecting psychological or cultural traits. Curator: It’s also worth considering that surrealism, even in the 21st century, offers artists a mode to explore anxieties and question established societal norms. Perhaps the historical references heighten that feeling, a disruption of the present by invoking an altered past. Editor: I would concur. Looking at the dreamlike atmosphere of the scenery, and the burning torch at the center of the subject's headpiece makes me think that this piece speaks about knowledge and destruction, about the ability of the knowledge itself to annihilate previous knowledge. Curator: That certainly adds another layer to this fascinating work. It forces one to consider the ways in which cultural narratives are constructed and challenged, even today. Editor: Indeed. Sablón seems to use this dreamlike, historical pastiche to prod at the viewer’s subconscious, playing with collective symbols to make us wonder and think beyond immediate appearances. Curator: I'm left with the sense that there are endless cultural threads to unravel, with Sablón's fascinating work serving as a poignant focal point. Editor: A great and challenging task, really. Hopefully visitors are inspired to engage with their cultural memory in a more thoughtful manner.