Mearson Daniel Zafra
Zafra is known for his unique abstract paintings inspired by indigenous Taino petroglyphs found in the caves of eastern Cuba. Like most Cubans, Zafra is of mixed ancestry - among his ancestors were Spanish Jews, Filipinos, Africans and Tainos. However, it is the Taino culture in particular that haunts and inspires his work. In his artist statement he writes:
"An animal can become plant, a plant in the animal. A man can become plant, animal or vice versa."
"In my work, I reflect upon the invention of myth as a result of the accumulation of historical recovery, which reaches my conscience in various ways."
"Building on the legacy of our ancestors, rock art has expressed the need for the abstracted, the idealized as a reflection of primitive culture in general. This result, the whole iconography in my work is part of a careful selection to create and recreate symbols and signs, which suggest a speculative metaphorical language, which hyperbolizes the narrow and delicate spiritual thread, sometimes providing magnificence and other times spoiled, differentiated traits."
Zafra lives near Santiago de Cuba with wife and son. He is a member of La Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC). His paintings are in private collections in Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Canada, Costa Rica and the United States.
