Conrad Gees
Bosque Mágico De La Habana (Havana’s Magic Forest)
In February of 2016 after six days of roaming the streets of Havana, Cuba, documenting the people and the changes occurring since the announcement of renewed relations with the United States, I entered the Bosque de la Habana (Havana’s Forest).
Near the park’s entrance were faded food pavilions and gazebos, that hinted at the history of a lush space which once served as a verdant oasis for families to go on weekends. Deeper into the forest, along the Almendares River, I followed a walkway where I could imagine young couples and lovers once strolling in evenings past.
The true beauty of the park, however, lay in its deepest recesses, where over the years vines and new growth have combined with old growth, forming strange enchanted creatures and structures which have a life of their own. The forest appeared to me to be a metaphor for Cuba today.
Artist Bio
Conrad Gees is a photographer based in Natick, MA. His lifelong interest in photography stems from a love of images that speak to the viewer on multiple levels. Gees has taken this ethos to the forests of Eastern MA, the railways of Europe, and most recently, the streets of Havana where he has embarked upon of a multi-year project documenting the impact of the renewed relations between the US and Cuba.
Gees’ work has been exhibited in solo shows at The New England School of Photography, The Center for the Arts Natick, and Baldwin Hill Art and Framing Gallery, as well as group shows at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Smith College. His work has also been published in University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Fine Arts Magazine. Most recently he completed the Photography Atelier Program at the Griffin Museum of Photography under the tutelage of Meg Birnbaum and Amy Rindskopf.
http://www.conradgeeswhatnowphotography.com
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