The Birds, Cuba

Ulla Deventer (1984)

The Birds, Cuba

2019 | wallpaperprint, HD video 16:9, 40" screen | 280 × 250 cm

Ulla Deventer asks questions about the interdependence of women and social conventions and the balance of power in relations during her work. For this series, Deventer went to Cuba to take a closer look at this subject. Cuba is often portrayed as a seductive Caribbean beauty who promises to satisfy male desires and that romanticises female dependence. It was the perfect place to explore the role of women in this construction.

Deventer built close relationships with local women and started to wonder how these women experience their position in such a patriarchal society. What are their ideas about independence, love and sexuality? She uses her work to challenge our binary way of looking at the gender balance with stories about isolation, power and the desire for intimacy and love, and she illustrates the most primitive human need as the most complex.

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Ricardo van Eyk

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Christian Borstlap

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Piet van den Boog