Leslie Moquin
Hasta Abajo!
France
From Cartagena to Barranquilla, the Picòs roar in the Columbian Caribbean laboring neighborhoods. Monumental, rejoicing, these sound systems are the totems of the dance parties to the beat of Champeta. Icons of an Afro-Caribbean counter-culture, I initiated my exploration of the territory on their footsteps. Then, far removed from any tropical paradise clichés, it is a region rich with its melting-pot. The marvelous comes in the everyday: in the singular colors that shape the territory and in the vibrant beats of the Picòs that resonate in the dark of nights. This work focuses particularly on color to translate the visual esthetics of this urban culture, that of the Picòs: fluorescent yellow is the absolute master at night while the Caribbean light immerses the day in pastel softness.
