René Francisco Rodríguez. Catálogo Transforms. 8 Artisti per Trieste. 1.3/ 1.4. 2001. P.p. 92.

René Francisco Rodríguez´s installation, Y, illustrates the well-known condition of finding ourselves forced to make a choice in life: the crossroads, the moment of doubt before deciding which road to take and which to exclude. Crossing a sort of corridor, we find ourselves between two walls composed of automobile tyres with larger tyre at the center forming a sort of well.

Tyres are one of the objects most often subjected to transformation, probably because of their form and easy availability but also because they suggest the idea of movement. The mirror in the middle of the well is water, source and introspection but also a possible point of encounter, suggesting a moment of shared confrontation with other spectators in order to break the solitude of the journey.

This intervention thus takes form around a reflection on certain existential aspects and entwines itself with a cultural connotation with respect to the choice of materials. In fact, it is a common practice among the Cuban artists which have appeared on the international art scene in the last decade, and among which René Francisco occupies an important place, to re-utilise waste products or throwaway objects that have been radically changed in their function and meaning. This approach has its origins in the widespread social practice of creating nre functional solutions – in effect, a survival strategy- and in the re-eleboration/re-assembly of objects which are used in place of what is lacking.