cymoonv

cymoonv is a self-taught digital artist who explores alternative identities, particularly through the lens of self-perception, queerness, and posthuman subjectivities. She is interested in exploring “themes of identity, intimacy, and imagining post-natural bodies and worlds.” cymoonv draws from the rich visual and intellectual heritage of the LGBTQIA+ community and cyberfeminist artists. Her mesmerizing creations have been subject to censorship by various social media platforms and the Cuban government due to their focus on queerness and eroticism. 

After dealing with online censorship and government harassment, cymoonv made the difficult decision to leave the island and now lives in Barcelona. cymoonv believes that the migrant communities she has encountered in Spain have given her the motivation and support to pursue her artwork full-time. 

During her fellowship with ARC and PEN International, cymoonv worked on “Una de Mis Muchas Pieles,” an illustration series about the existence of queer identities within Yoruba literature and how they differ from historically recognized and culturally imposed identities. The series uses queer and non-normative elements within the Afro-Cuban Santería and Yoruba traditions and spiritual practices to reimagine identity. 

The works reinterpret two patakis (parables common in Santería tradition) dedicated to Oya, the orisha (divine spirits in the Yoruba tradition) of the Wind, and a story where Oya saves Shango, the orisha of lightning and the embodiment of courage and virility. The illustrations dissolve normative narratives and challenge Western configurations of gender and women. 

By exploring historical phenomena linked to colonization and continuous efforts to suppress these religions, cymoonv uses their art to dismantle the imposition of the male heteropatriarchal perspective on religious practices and society.