DIANGO HERNÁNDES: WHO'S HIDING UNDER WATER?
It is said by the Eldar that in water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the Sea, and yet know not for what they listen.
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion
As I stand before his paintings, I cannot help but marvel at the journey the artist undertakes to find their unique style, through a search for expression, impression, feeling, sensation, impact, fame, failures and risings, the joy, the sorrow, the temptation and the seduction of creation.
Diango Hernández's interpretation of the underwater world is mesmerizing. I am transported to the bottom of the clearest water spring. All I can see are the contours of a female figure, but it is enough to ignite my imagination. I find myself drawn into a whirlpool of speculation: Is she in love, I wonder, or is she grappling with some hidden pain? Is she lost in dreamy reverie, or is there a quiet intensity simmering beneath the surface?
Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time? That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past nor the shadow of the future.
Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
Like a beautiful mirror, these paintings become a reflection of my own inner world. Today, I see strength and resilience staring back at me, tomorrow the soft glow of contentment, and perhaps the day after, a hint of restlessness.
That is where the fun is: playing with the reflection in the water, talking to it, asking it: Do I need to change? Take the big, wonderful step? Already? Today?
Diango Hernández's early years were marked by immersion in the Cuban cultural scene amidst the tumultuous aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. This period of flux propelled him towards collective initiatives. One of the defining chapters in his career was the formation of Ordo Amoris Cabinet (OAC), a collaborative venture aimed at responding to societal challenges through art and design, addressing the ongoing scarcity of materials and goods.
Upon relocating to Europe, Hernández found solace and inspiration in Düsseldorf, Germany, where he continues to reside and create.
Central to his artistic ethos remains the exploration of fragility and incompleteness. Whether through drawing, painting, or multimedia installations, he invites audiences to contemplate the transient nature of existence.
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),
E.E.Cummings, 100 Selected Poems
It's always our self we find in the sea.
At the heart of many of Diango's pieces lies a profound engagement with the language of waves and water, a metaphor for fluidity and transformation.
From the Biennale of Venice, Sydney and São Paulo to solo showcases in London, each brushstroke, each installation is imbued with a sense of introspection. In a world of inconstancy and uncertainty, reborn is the ever changing, and ever remaining, beauty.
