25 de Noviembre is the latest book by Ernesto Bazan, the fourth devoted to his beloved island of Cuba. After first leafing through it, I realized that I needed to set aside time for more viewings. Each time I returned to a profoundly different experience.
Bazan’s book is hauntingly beautiful. What strikes me most of all is the departure from his usual style, perhaps one of the most important things an artist can do. It is said that the best thing for us, as creative beings, is to continue to move forward in new directions — exploring and metamorphosing.
25 de Noviembre shows a deeper side of Bazan’s life; while his work has always been poetic, this series is closer to poetry itself. A book of poetic forms woven into a beautiful tapestry full of darkness and light, sadness and hope; accumulated memories and moments of joyous freedom.
Each time I revisit the book it reveals something new, much like a Bergman film. The images are so much tighter than in his previous books, which makes them intimate. The rich, dark blacks that permeate throughout keep a hold on you — they pull you in. It feels cinematic, the pages like single frames of a film. Everything from the texture of the cover to the layout of the book, and its fold-out pages, has a special feel.
I know it was a hard book to make: emotionally, spiritually and physically. Engaging with it, I can almost feel the author’s tears on each page; his soul is wide open. Bazan’s heart is in these images, and in 25 de Noviembre’s story.
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She also founded a non-profit organization The Nightingale Project, which teaches art and photography to needy children. The program travels with a mix of adults and high school students. Journeys so far have been to Haiti, Cambodia and New York.