In Cuba, paper bags represent both the past and the future. “Cartuchos” were once an essential part of everyday life, but were replaced by plastic bags after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen and I commissioned nine local writers and thinkers to write speeches about Cuba, using a paper bag as a point of departure. An edition of nine paper bags, each featuring excerpts from one of the speeches, was printed in 100,000 copies.
The bags were distributed during the biennial to vegetable markets and small grocery stores across Havana, where they were given out to customers. In this way, the work gradually entered households throughout the city.
The paper bag becomes a lens through which histories, politics, economics and global conflicts can be read.
The project was part of Havana Biennial 2019. Writers of the speeches printed on the paperbags were Juan Triana, Maikel José Rodríguez, Isdanny Morales, Mario Castillo, Roly Ávalos & Alex Díaz, Modesto Díaz , Orlando Hernández, Israel Castellanos and Hilda María Rodríguez. We worked with a local curator Lisset Yllanez.