The magazine of the photo-essay
December 2016 issue
by Jay Seldin
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker
The Wedding Car.
Jesus and Dominos.
Super Hero.
Body Shaving.
RCA Victor.
Che Walkers.
Stairway to the Top.
Between Rounds.
Baseball by the Sea.
Brothers.
Living Under a Cement Block Interior.
Sleeping Resident.
Auto Mechanic.
Dance Studio Rehersal.
Santeria Fortune Teller.
Cooks Living Quarters, Hersey.
Bus 545.
Jay Seldin’s multi-layered photographs of Cuba give an intimate view of
everyday life on the island; they are both works of art but also a vicarious
journey for the viewer. They reveal Cubans as they are, far beyond the
clichés and poses. His work involves great patience. He goes beyond the
stereotypical scene many photographers would capture, connecting with
the people, listening to their stories and creating the rapport that is so
palpable in his work. The omnipresent symbols of Cuba are here. In the
backgrounds are slogans and figures from the Revolution, some all but
disregarded by the younger generation. Here too is the ever-present
Cuban flag, an identity symbol battered but not broken. Yet the
foregrounds reveal another Cuba, layered on top. The photographs
capture the two Cubas’, old and new, as they inevitably collide.
Reminiscent of Robert Frank in more ways than simply the title, The
Cubans is a beautiful, bittersweet vignette of my island and its people.