El Hueco (The Whole) neighborhood, La Lisa, Havana, Cuba

El Hueco (The Whole) neighborhood, La Lisa, Havana, Cuba

Housing in El Hueco (The Whole) neighborhood / La Lisa, Havana, Cuba

Housing in El Hueco (The Whole) neighborhood / La Lisa, Havana, Cuba

Material delivery by the resident of the house / The Hole neighborhood, La Lisa, Havana, Cuba

Material / excrement

Extrement pigmented varnish / DUAL Varnish © Grethell Rasúa / 2005

Label / DUAL Varnish © Grethell Rasúa / 2005

Varnish application / El Hueco (The Whole) neighborhood, La Lisa, Havana, Cuba

Varnish application / El Hueco (the Whole) neighborhood, La Lisa, Havana, Cuba

DUAL

Action / Video Documentation / Customized work / 2:31 min
© DUAL Varnish-Grethell Rasua
2005

Under the La Lisa Bridge in Havana, is El Hueco (The Hole), a peripheral, makeshift neighborhood in precarious condition. To point out and comment on the existence of settlements such as these in Cuba, I worked with residents of one of the houses in this community.  I proposed a way to beautify their homes that could also help mitigate the contamination of the nearby stream. Without a viable waste removal system, the people lived in constant danger of disease. 

Using one of the materials readily available to them – their own excrement – I made a varnish of durable resistance and beautiful color that was applied to the entire exterior of the house.