Untitled (twelve photographs: street scenes in Havana and Cuban revolutionaries) after 1950

Curator: This work, of twelve photographs taken by Lester Cole, captures street scenes and revolutionaries in Havana. Editor: There's a stark, almost documentary feel, with the monochrome emphasizing the rigid lines of the architecture and the candid nature of the shots. Curator: Indeed. Each photograph offers a glimpse into Cuba's cultural narrative at the time. Note the recurring imagery: cars, crowds, and the ever-present figures of authority. Editor: And consider the photographic process. It's raw, unedited—literally a contact sheet. The artist presents the means of image production, the film itself, alongside its content. Curator: The visible frame edges remind us of the editing process—the selection and potential erasure of certain narratives within the larger story of revolution. Editor: Right. We are made aware of the labor of assembling these street scenes into a single object, from production to consumption. Curator: Reflecting upon these visual choices allows us to consider what is shown, and what might be concealed within Cole's compilation. Editor: Exactly, it's the labor, both physical and ideological, of shaping a particular historical narrative.