March 2013
Artist’s Statement
To understand a culture or a country, I think you need to understand its people. Under that premise, I began my exploration of Cuba in the year 2002. Very gradually, I began to meet people and make friends. First, a photographer working for the University of Havana; next, an 11-year-old girl and her family; then the family from whom I had rented a room. One person at a time, I eventually found myself among a tight circle of friends who were always introducing me to new and interesting people. Over the next several years I made 5 more trips to the island, documenting the people with whom I spent most of my time. Some of them are now living outside of Cuba — in Spain, Brazil and Norway — but I still speak to them and follow their lives. As for my cultural experiment, let’s just say that I’ve learned far more about myself than I have these people or the Cuban culture.
Biography
Mark Mosrie is a commercial photographer and photographic educator based in Nashville, Tennessee. His work has taken him to 43 U.S. states, five continents, and around the world on a ship. He considers environmental portraiture to be his specialty.
