Pleni Luna 1974

Curator: Let’s turn our attention to "Pleni Luna," created in 1974 by Wifredo Lam. We believe this piece offers significant insights into Lam's perspective on post-colonial identity. Editor: It strikes me immediately as unsettling, doesn't it? The composition, with these stacked figures outlined in stark black ink against the watercolor wash, gives the whole image a fragile, almost haunted feel. Curator: Indeed. Lam, throughout his career, navigated a complex position within the art world. Born in Cuba with mixed European, African, and Chinese heritage, he addressed issues of cultural hybridity and the legacy of colonialism in his work. You can see how that tension plays out in the fusion of Western modernist styles, like Cubism and Surrealism, with visual cues drawn from African and Caribbean spiritual traditions. Editor: And look at how the materials themselves—watercolor and ink—speak to that fusion. Watercolor, with its fluidity, is a European painting technique, yet here it creates a ghostly backdrop for these powerfully outlined figures in ink, hinting at both transparency and a deliberate concealing. Curator: Precisely. And the title, "Pleni Luna," Latin for "full moon," adds another layer, perhaps a nod to the lunar cycles and their symbolic association with spirituality and transformation within many cultures that influenced Lam. He wasn't simply borrowing from these cultures; he was engaging in a dialogue about power and representation. Editor: There's a vulnerability too though, despite the visual strength. Those eyes... they’re so wide and exposed. It almost makes you question the authority implied by those towering forms. I keep thinking about the process—the delicate build-up of washes, the controlled, almost frantic application of the ink. There's a real push and pull visible here in the materiality alone. Curator: A beautiful observation. Lam provides potent imagery loaded with personal, social and political references, inviting constant re-evaluation from both art historians and casual audiences alike. Editor: Yes, it has left me pondering the weight of cultural history carried in such seemingly delicate materials.