Cuba presents Roberto Diago's installation "Hombres Libres (Free Men)" at the 61st Venice Biennale, curated by Nelson Ramirez de Arellano Conde and commissioned by Daneisy García Roque. The work, on view from May 9 to November 22, 2025, features a group of sculpted heads made from oxidized metals, wood, plastics, and reclaimed materials that advance toward viewers, bearing scars that evoke a history of pain and resistance.
The installation redefines freedom not as a passive state but as an active, continuous practice of confronting and dignifying historical trauma. By displaying Black skin as a "geographical map of trauma and resistance," Diago shifts the narrative from victimhood to survival, asserting that true freedom lies in acknowledging one's scars and maintaining dignity. This makes the Cuban pavilion a powerful statement on identity, memory, and decolonization within the global art context of the Venice Biennale.