Doce cuchillos

"The present work was the study for an installation I created for a solo exhibition titled Persistencia del uso at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Havana, Cuba in 1984. The installation was also my submission and one of three works, I showed in the 1st Bienal of La Habana in [May-June] 1984. The work deals with my constant search and study of anthropological meanings, in this case, focusing on the knife as a basic form and primordial tool of mankind. It was all fabricated by hand by me, and each of the "blades" represented in the work were made from diverse materials like bone, shell, different types of wood, metal, copper, iron, and even recycled glass. The "blades" were affixed with asphalt to the wooden handles and the text alluded to a simple explanation, like a hypothetical professor writing on a blackboard explaining its ingredients. Since then, I have used cursive (or Palmer) calligraphy in my work. Unfortunately, the installation was lost in Cuba, but this initial drawing exists and captures the same concept."

- José Bedia, 2024