(Please click on "Art Photos" to see the Garcia twins' work.)
The Masterful Photography of Eduardo and Orlando Garcia: The Siamees Project
Angeles de la Habana is a series of spirit images
Which recreates the magic
Of the architecture, the streets, the people
And the angels of Havana.
This is a story
Just as Havana tells it to you
And just as we tell you.
As it happens in any history of life
Many people have contributed paragraphs
And chapters, and many of them
Reside in anonymity."
-Eduardo and Orlando Garcia -
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Twin brothers, Eduardo and Orlando are photographers; Eduardo is also a painter. They have won numerous awards for their collaborative work in digital photography, a fast maturing sector of the Havana art scene.
Long before we met Eddy and Landy, we met their agent who sold us their 20+ photo series of Havana's crumbling but beautiful spirit-inhabited doorways, Angeles de la Habana, El Proyecto Siamees. Since the twins have no car, imagine the difficulty of producing such a physically laborious body of work...while conjoined. For weeks, as I emailed back and forth to Eddy, an image of the two men as one held in my mind.
Many weeks later, the question finally felt comfortable to ask. "Eddy, are you and Landy Siamees joined twins?
"Oh no, just twins. In Cuba, to us, 'Siamees' means
'twins.' But we might as well be joined. We work closely together and will for all our lives." That refers to photography. When it comes to painting, Eddy paints alone.
- Notes from Marjorie Pravden, Cuba! Gallery of Fine Art -
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La Jiribilla interview with the Garcia twins, by Star Diaz in Havana. Loosely translated by La Jiribilla.
"If my brother is not invited, I am not going," was the resounding response I received about a year ago when I was trying, by telephone, to arrange an interview with one of the jimaguas.
I recall the story, but I do not know if it was Orlando or Eduardo who lifted the phone...how important, beautiful, it was the gesture, brotherhood...and in this case the meaning of the phrase is quite literal.
These two young men are students. Orlando, at the moment is working on his diploma that will graduate him with a specialization in design at the Higher Institute of Industrial Design, (ISDI) with a proposed interior for the National Museum of Natural Sciences in the Plaza de Armas, La Habana Vieja, while Eduardo, also making his thesis Degree in English Language Teaching in Higher Teaching Institute Enrique Jose Varona in Liberty City.
"Jimaguas" (twins) as they were known, were in the Hall of Digital Art competition in the Centro Cultural Pablo de la Torriente Brau-First Prize in the category by the audiovisual set of works submitted.
On that occasion, the jury by record gave awards to the twins for "Fractures of the Soul," "Objects and other Manipulations", "Soberbia" and Series "Is This Still Life?"
They have also prepared a sample of their latest work entitled Angels in Havana at the opening on Wednesday the 22nd, at the Centro Hispanoamericano of Culture. At this exhibition I talked with Orlando and Eduardo.
Why Angeles in Havana? What is the meaning of it?
(Landy) Angels in Havana is a pretext for referring to the mysterious beauty of this city. We emphasize colourful characters, enigmatic and ghostly who live and go unnoticed for many of us as the architecture of Havana.
Every picture tells a story establishing a dialogue between characters in the present and the past, all of them flooded with nostalgia emerging silent, hidden. Havana is an inexhaustible space, a maze of endless stairs and people who dream, and want to remember. Havana is surrounded by areas uninhabited and therefore there will be no lack of recent memories.
How many works are there? What techniques are used?
(Eddy) This sample includes the first 10 of the works and is created by traditional photography and digital technology using archival images of the 1930s and photos taken by us in Havana today, intertwined stories featuring characters from the past and present.
How do you divide the work?
(Eddy) Evenly in most cases. We create a close link feedback and categorically not take into account the amount of work done by one or the other or the idea of who was and who was not. What counts is only the end result of the effort of both.
Is it difficult to "work with four hands?"
(Landy) I would not say that is is easy, but it is a satisfying experience and indeed should meet the needs of both from all angles when working as a team. It requires a lot of communication.
How are they different and what techniques are common to both?
(Landy) I have the tendency to include traditional elements of the fine arts. Sometimes, I use more minimalist symbols while Eddy is more descriptive.
My brother and I agree that when it comes to representing a work, the support of the other is very important. Moreover, if we work together on a project, we try to follow the same line of thinking and not separate the image when creating independently for the same series, such as Angels in Havana.
We have a lot of similarities in the ideas and concepts. Even in the way of projecting what is more abstract, we refer to the basic ways of representation (and the kind of technical support.)
Are you in agreement when you initially begin a job?
(Landy) First, the idea can be from either one of us on a project, and we value the whole. As we progress, there are new emphases on the idea (from our point of view) and the objective of the proposal emerges.
Do you work together all the time or do some projects separately?
(Eddy) We don't always work together. There are issues that we prefer to deal with alone, for example, the piece "Soberbia", awarded in the Digital Art VI Hall was designed and made by my brother alone. It happened so with "Objects and Other Manipulations," and I alone was awarded for it. There will always be projects that we create separately.
Your Plans?
(Eddy) We have some projects in the works now, but our most important thing now is to carry out our graduation theses for our respective careers. After graduation, we would like to become partners with the Systematic Center Paul in some form.
How valued is digital art in Cuba?
(Eddy) During our involvement in the various Digital Art workshops and competitions convened by the Centre Paul, we have found that at the national level, there is a bottom-up quality; also, we see an increased wisdom in using digital media linked with the talent of the artist. This offers a stronger concept. Digital art is here to stay, joining the fine arts with a very real sense of its own obligation and contribution.
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