Self-portrait with Matryoshkas

I made this photograph in 2005 as an auto exploration of my feelings towards maternity. The name "matryoshka" (матрёшка), literally "little matron", is a diminutive form of Russian female first name "Matryona" (Матрёна) or "Matriosha". Matryoshka dolls are a traditional representation of the mother carrying a child within her and can be seen as a representation of a chain of mother's carrying on the family legacy through the child in their womb. Furthermore, Matryoshka dolls are used to illustrate the unity of body, soul, mind, heart and spirit. Matryoshka is associated in Russia with family and fertility. Growing up in Cuba in the 80's would mean to be exposed to a broad spectrum of Russian products. These were introduced the previous decade in the country due to political and economic peculiar circumstances that started since the Missile Crisis in 1962 and stretched out until the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991. These quotidian elements permeated the Cuban reality at all levels creating a very specific association of these two distinctive cultures. It was very common to find a Matryoshka set as a decorative element in Cuban houses. Still is. I used these elements for exploring liaisons between maternity and replica.