Discoveries in Art

The Boat (El Bote)

The Boat (El Bote) by Tonel - Antonio Eligio Fernandez, ink and watercolor on paper, 1998 – available at Discoveries in Art.

"El bote" is based on an installation-sculpture i did in 1993, for a group show in Dusseldorf, Germany. The show included German, American, and artists from a few other countries, and was done at an alternative space, kind of an artists-run studio and gallery.

in the early 90s, like a number of Cuban artists at the time, I did works dealing with the images of boats and rafts, thinking about Cuban 'balseros', who were trying to get to the US by sea in precarious ships. This issue became more prominent in 1994, as you might recall.

For that show in Dusseldorf, there was a real boat i got from somewhere in Germany, and I worked with a carpenter to drill holes in it. the holes had the shape of the Cuban map. you can sort of see that in the drawing, I believe. I have made a few drawings before, and I made a couple after the sculpture was finished (I normally do several drawings related to my sculptural and installation work, both before and after the installation has been done).