Juan Carlos Alom
40.6 x 50.8 cm
In Juan Carlos Alom's Curando la Tierra (1996–1998), a silver gelatin print from the series El Libro Oscuro, the composition unfolds as a mirrored diptych featuring a rectangular, transparent vessel divided into two facing panels. Within each, a pair of human skulls rests in a clear substrate, positioned in intimate confrontation beneath a compacted layer of soil. Protruding from this earthen barrier are clusters of slender, jointed rods—reminiscent of barren bamboo culms—extending upward in varying heights and angles, as if emerging from subterranean origins. A sweeping, gestural white mark disrupts the lower expanse, evoking deliberate emulsion alterations or chemical interferences, which underscore the work's experimental departure from conventional photographic fidelity. Constrained by the resource limitations of Cuba's Special Period, Alom employs these techniques to construct a tableau that layers metaphors of entrapment and renewal, subtly alluding to cycles of decay and latent vitality while navigating veiled critiques of institutional oversight through symbolic ambiguity.
Provenance
Juan Carlos Alom Studio > Pan American Art ProjectsExhibitions
“El voluble rostro de la realidad: siete fotógrafos cubanos,” Fundación Ludwig de Cuba catalogue / Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba, March 17–April 17, 1996.
“El Libro Oscuro,” Fundación Ludwig de Cuba / Fototeca de Cuba / Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba, 1996.
“El Libro Oscuro,” Schneider Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 1996.
“The Dark Book/El Libro Oscuro,” Throckmorton Fine Art, Inc., New York, New York, United States, November 21, 1996–February 1, 1997.
“El Libro Oscuro,” Iturralde Gallery, Los Angeles, California, United States, March 6–April 11, 1998.
“Shifting Tides: Cuban Photography after the Revolution,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, California, United States, April 15–July 1, 2001.
“Shifting Tides: Cuban Photography after the Revolution,” Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York, New York, United States, August 28–October 27, 2001.
“Shifting Tides: Cuban Photography after the Revolution,” Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, Illinois, United States, November 18, 2001–February 10, 2002.
“Postales del Abismo,” Pan American Art Projects, Miami, Florida, United States, June 21–August 24, 2024.
“Navigating the Waves: Contemporary Cuban Photography,” Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, United States, September 29, 2024–August 3, 2025.
Literature
“El voluble rostro de la realidad: siete fotógrafos cubanos,” Fundación Ludwig de Cuba catalogue (edited by Juan Antonio Molina), Havana, Cuba, March 17–April 17, 1996.
“Aquella sensación de comenzar la historia,” Artecubano. Revista de Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba, 1996.
“El Libro Oscuro / The Dark Book,” Juan Carlos Alom, Havana, Cuba, 1996 (Self-published or associated publication with texts in Spanish and English, unpaginated; features works from the series.)
“Illusion of a New Being/La ilusión de un nuevo ser,” The Dark Book/El Libro Oscuro catalogue, Havana, Cuba, November 1996.
“Juan Carlos Alom: el libro oscuro,” Iturralde Gallery catalogue (essay by Juan Antonio Molina), Los Angeles, California, United States, 1997.
“Beholding Images of Picture-Perfect Fantasy,” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, United States, March 20, 1998.
“Belkis Ayón and Juan Carlos Alom,” ArtScene, Los Angeles, California, United States, March 1998.
“Vigilar y castigar (Interview with Juan Carlos Alom),” Unión, Havana, Cuba, April–June 1998.
“Shifting Tides: Cuban Photography after the Revolution,” 2001 : page 24.
“Juan Carlos Alom,” BOMB Magazine, New York, New York, United States, January 1, 2004.
“December 1: Talisman,” On This Date in Photography blog, Online, December 1, 2017.
“A Conversation with Juan Carlos Alom,” Caribbean Cultural Institute at Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, Florida, United States, 2023.
“Navigating the Waves: Contemporary Cuban Photography at the MFAH,” 2024 : page 94.