What does the future hold? A woman stands at the window of a skyscraper looking out in a still from Coco Fusco, La Confesión. Courtesy Alexander Gray Associates, New York © Coco Fusco/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

ART 

Coco Fusco New Works at The Ringling examine the twilight of the Cuban revolution and the anxieties of an uncertain future.

BY KAZAD

SARASOTA, FLORIDA – An exhibition of recent video projects by the internationally acclaimed interdisciplinary artist and writer Coco Fusco is on view this fall at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.  Coco Fusco: Twilight includes the world premiere of two new works – one video and one outdoor sculpture. The new works explore the current political and social climate in Cuba as it transitions to a post-Castro era.

The title of the exhibition comes from Fusco’s deep understanding of the Cuban experience, especially in the twilight of the Cuban revolution. They capture the anxieties of an uncertain future.  “Fusco’s deeply informed research and critical discourse on contemporary Cuban culture is essential to understanding the country’s challenges and geopolitical position in 2018,” said Christopher Jones, associate curator of photography and new media at The Ringling. Jones is the curator for the show.

Coco Fusco: The Message in a Bottle from María Elena (2015)

Coco Fusco, La botella al mar de María Elena, 2015. 44-minute single-channel digital film. Courtesy Alexander Gray Associates, New York. © Coco Fusco/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Politics, culture, and the state of play have always been integral to Coco Fusco’s projects. The videos and sculptures in this exhibition operate at the intersection of politics and culture.

Three videos – La botella al mar de María Elena/The Message in a Bottle from María Elena (2015), La confesión/The Confession (2015), and La Plaza Vacia/The Empty Plaza(2012) – delve into Cuba’s political and cultural history. There is a particular focus on an uncertain future.  These works will be shown together in a high-definition single-channel video, alongside an installation of Y entonces el mar te habla/And the Sea Will Talk to You (2012). The time-based work making its debut in the exhibition is a video essay created in response to the realities faced by artists and writers working in Cuba today.

Video Works

In addition to the video works in Twilight, a new interactive sculpture by Fusco will be unveiled by The Ringling on the grounds adjacent to the Art Museum. Entitled Tin Man Trump, the new work is a  monumental statue of President Donald Trump as the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz. With the reference, Fusco infers that President Trump’s statements on race, gender, and immigration policy reflect a lack of heart. The juxtaposition of the Tin Man Trump in concert with other Fusco’s works on Cuba is a powerful statement. It is a reminder of the importance of dissent and freedom of expression in an open democratic society.

Steven High, executive director of the Ringling describes Coco Fusco as an insightful artist who is able to illuminate events and situations across the globe.  “As one of the most articulate and engaged creative practitioners of our time, Coco Fusco interprets the state of the world is particularly relevant and provocative ways,” he said. He adds, “We look forward to sharing her compelling, insightful work with our diverse audiences as part of The Ringling’s ongoing commitment to supporting and presenting contemporary artists.”

About Coco Fusco

A prolific and wide-ranging multimedia artist, writer, and critic, Fusco’s projects have appeared in leading biennials, festivals, and museums worldwide. She is the recipient of numerous international awards and fellowships, including a 2013 Guggenheim Fellowship and a Herb Alpert Award in the Arts.

In 2016, Fusco won the Hermitage Artist Retreat’s Greenfield Prize.  She has a bachelor’s degree in semiotics from Brown University and an M.A. in modern thought and literature from Stanford University.  Fusco got her Ph.D. in art and visual culture from Middlesex University in the U.K.

Fusco is the author of Dangerous Moves: Performance and Politics in Cuba (2015) and A Field Guide for Female Interrogators (2008). She is also the author of English is Broken Here: Notes on Cultural Fusion in the Americas (1995), among other volumes. In 2016, Fusco was named the Andrew Banks Family Endowed Chair and Professor of Art at the University of Florida. She is based in Gainesville, Florida, and New York, New York.

Coco Fusco: Twilight will be on view in The Ringling’s Monda Gallery for Contemporary Art from Oct. 14, 2018, through Feb. 17, 2019. Several programs and performances organized in conjunction with the exhibition will also be held.

What do think about writers and artists like Coco Fusco using their works to bring attention to the plight of people across the globe? Share your thoughts.