RITE AND SYNCRETISM IN THE DIALOGUE OF CALDERIUS AT THE CAAC
The Andalusian Center of Contemporary Art (CAAC) presents Sensemayá. Cánticos para matar a la Culebra (Sensemaya. Chants to kill the snake), the first solo institutional exhibition in Spain by Claribel Calderius (Havana, Cuba, 1986). Conceived specifically for the San Bruno Chapel, the project is a site-specific intervention that draws on the space’s historical and spiritual resonance—qualities that align seamlessly with the symbolic universe of the Cuban artist.
Through this action, Calderius invites viewers into a visual and emotional journey steeped in tradition, memory, and spirituality, all channeled through the emblem of the snake. Inspired by Nicolás Guillén’s poem Sensemayá, the reclamation of the snake as a figure becomes the axis of a mystical space where opposing concepts—material and immaterial, ancestral and contemporary—coexist and converse through a sensorial language.
Calderius reconstructs the hidden history of the chapel and engages with its architecture to articulate a visual narrative. Each work has been conceived specifically for this space, establishing an intimate dialogue with the building itself.
The artist primarily works with jute fibers, a natural material rich in symbolism that reconnects her practice with origins—both personal and cultural. Through the act of weaving, Calderius reactivates memory and healing, elevating both as tools of resistance.
Her patterns reference oral traditions and the transmission of heritage and symbolism. Here, syncretism—central to Calderius’s practice—emerges not just as a theme but as a method. Her work continuously engages in dialogue with Afro-Cuban religious practices and the cultural layers they embed within society. Ritual and community are emphasized as living symbols of identity.
Claribel Calderius. Sensemayá. Cánticos para matar a la culebra is on view at the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Américo Vespucio 2, Seville (Spain).
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