Dive into the surreal: strange views of Cuba in pictures | Art and design

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Dive into the surreal: strange views of Cuba – in pictures

Cuban photographer Raúl Cañibano worked as a welder before beginning a photographic journey he describes as ‘somehow surrealist’

@mlestone Main image: Something strange afoot … Raúl Cañibano’s Habana, 2023. Photograph: Courtesy of the artist and The Photographers’ Gallery/Raúl Cañibano

Tue 30 Jan 2024 02.00 EST Last modified on Sun 4 Feb 2024 18.22 EST

  • Malecón Habanero, Cuba, 1994

    Human Landscapes brings together early and recent works by Cuban photographer Raúl Cañibano. Showcasing images taken over three decades, this exhibition celebrates Cañibano’s profound love for his native country. Raúl Cañibano: Human Landscapes is at The Photographers’ Gallery Print Sales Gallery until 7 April. All photographs: Raúl Cañibano/courtesy of the artist and The Photographers’ Gallery

  • Cienfuegos, 2016

    Born in Havana in 1961 and raised in post-revolutionary Cuba, Cañibano was initially a welder by trade until his photographic journey began in 1984

  • Matanzas, 2015

    Self-taught and inspired by the art books at Cuba’s National Library, Cañibano soon developed his own style, which he calls ‘somehow surrealist’

  • Habana, 2009

    This surrealist sensibility appears in his playful use of scale, often contrasting uncannily close-up subjects with distant figures to evoke mysterious affinities and tensions

  • Habana, 2023

    Raúl Cañibano: ‘I think surrealism is very poetic, and perhaps for that reason my work has something of a mystical feeling’

  • Habana, 2006

    In Cañibano’s work, everyday scenes take on poetic and mystical qualities tinged with a political edge

  • Dog Jumping, Malecón Habanero, 2013

    Cañibano’s images offer an intimate, humorous or profound perspective on the island’s identity

  • Malecón, Habana, 2015

    Having travelled extensively across the country, often living with his subjects for months at a time, Cañibano provides a window into Cuba, from the small farming communities of his childhood to the exuberance of Havana and the Malecón

  • Viñales, 2013

    Cañibano’s large, open-ended photographic essays allow him to explore the complexity of urban and rural life in Cuba

  • Habana, 2019

    You can see more images from Cañibano’s three decade career in this gallery

  • Viñales, Cuba, 2007

    Taking an anthropological approach, Cañibano documents a way of life that he believes will soon vanish

  • Habana, 2003

    Cañibano has gained a reputation as one of the most gifted photographers in Latin America

  • Chambas, Cuba, 2017

    Prints are available to purchase from the gallery, with all proceeds supporting artists and The Photographers’ Gallery’s public programme
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