Ricardo Miguel Hernández
from the series Viviendo con el enemigo

from the series Viviendo con el enemigo

© 2006 Ricardo Miguel Hernández

from the series Viviendo con el enemigo
from the series Viviendo con el enemigo
CultureCuban
Titles
  • from the series Viviendo con el enemigo
  • from the series Living with the Enemy
Date2006
MediumInkjet print
DimensionsImage: 18 × 27 1/2 in. (45.7 × 69.9 cm)
Frame (outer): 25 × 34 in. (63.5 × 86.4 cm)
Credit LineThe Madeleine P. Plonsker Collection, Gift of Madeleine and Harvey Plonsker
Object number2024.257
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 314
On view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

From a series titled Living with the Enemy, this smoke-filled living room suggests a battle in progress. In  the early 2000s, dengue outbreaks in Cuba peaked, and the mosquito carrying the virus was referred to as “the enemy” in media campaigns. Homeowners were required to allow fumigation teams access to their properties, even when they showed up without notice. Afterward, residents were left to clean the residue of unspecified pesticides from their homes. “Living with the enemy” echoes the phrasing of the fumigation campaign and resonates with the power- lessness of Cubans to organize their domestic routines as they wished.

 

Esta sala llena de humo, de la serie Viviendo con el enemigo, sugiere una batalla en curso. A principios de los años 2000, los brotes de dengue en Cuba se intensificaron, y el mosquito portador del virus fue acuñado como “el enemigo” en las campañas mediáticas. Los ciudadanos debían permitir el acceso de los equipos de fumigación a sus viviendas, incluso sin previo aviso, y luego limpiar el residuo de los dudosos pesticidas. “Viviendo con el enemigo” parafrasea el eslogan de la campaña de fumigación y refleja la impotencia de los cubanos para organizar sus rutinas domésticas a su antojo.


ProvenanceMadeleine and Harvey Plonsker, Glencoe, Illinois; given to MFAH, 2024.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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