Catalogue of Visual Artists from Latin America and the Spanish Caribbean in the UK

Biography

Raul Speek

Cuba // Solva

Contact

Artist Statement

Over the last 10 years, I have began to see inside my identity; where I am going as a person within my civilisation I realised that was driving my creative work. Leaving a legacy for the next generation interests me too. I was born into the most important Latin American political and ideological revolution. Looking back I find there are many destructive opinions and points of view about this system. Whatever people’s opinions are, it is a  private personal issue, for I am the one who lived and suffered the consequences. I realise that in fact, there was no choice, I was just born there. Over recent years I have had to juggle and filter other people’s opinions about my work, which may or may not be right according to their own point of view. At the end of the day, I believe that many artists, for example Marc Chagall  along with others born into the beginning of Communism in the Soviet Union, had the same problem.  I accept the consequences as long as I can remain honest in my creative expression and present my experiences openly and transparently enough that people can make up their own minds or learn from my experience.

Now I am investigating, as far as I can, the origins of my cultural identity.  My current exhibition is precisely regarding that issue and includes 10 years of creating pieces in a contemporary conceptual style about the mystery of my own civilization of Latin America.

Works