Carlos Martiel
* 1989 Havana, Cuba. Lives there and in New York.
Eslabón. 2019
Mixed media installation and performance
Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation
About the work
For SB14, Martiel presents two commissioned projects that further his research on the African diaspora, systems of value and cultural histories. Having previously focused on the impact of the slave trade in the modernisation of Central and South America, the artist has recently turned to scholarship and archival records documenting the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century slave trade and related industries that link East Africa, South Asia and the Middle East.
In Sabor a Lágrimas and Eslabon (both 2019), Martiel explores these subjects in conjunction with pearl diving. On Saturday, 9 March 2019, he presented Eslabón on the roof of Bait Obaid Al Shamsi, a performance and installation that involves an accumulation of cage-like traps used for fishing in the Gulf region. Martiel performed the work by placing himself inside one of the fish traps, remaining isolated from spectators, yet still within sight. Here, where city, port and water converge, the artist invited viewers to contemplate the labour that sustains life and establishes maritime culture within a larger history of coastal urbanisation and trade.
From a text in the Sharjah Biennial 14 Guidebook
© 2019 Sharjah Art Foundation
Bait Obaid Al Shamsi: Seven artists and groups. Look for Me All Around You, curated by Claire Tancons. 7 March - 10 June 2019, UAE.