The Work

SKIN, and Grace.
Published by Artfineline, 2026

SKIN AND GRACE I
Published by Artfineline, 2026

Skin and Grace follows four professional Cuban dancers across the island, tracing the spaces where artistic discipline, masculinity, and vulnerability intersect. Developed over extended journeys through Havana, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Santa Clara, and the Escambray Mountains, the project unfolds not as a portrait of ballet itself, but as a portrait of the men who have chosen it.

In Cuba, where traditional expectations of masculinity remain deeply rooted, ballet carries meanings beyond performance. It demands extraordinary physical strength while asking for qualities—grace, sensitivity, emotional openness—that are not always easily reconciled with prevailing social ideals. Rather than illustrating this tension, the project lives within it.

The photographs were created over days spent traveling, eating, rehearsing, and living alongside the dancers. Some images are carefully constructed; others emerge from observation. Together with documentary footage captured throughout the journey, they seek not to explain these men but to remain close to their daily reality, where the boundaries between performer and individual gradually dissolve.

The first episode is presented as a finely printed 96-page hardcover photobook, combining black-and-white and color photographs. It is accompanied by a 60-minute documentary film, scheduled for release in Fall 2026, interweaving the author’s reflections with conversations in which the four dancers speak openly about their childhoods, their careers, their families, and the challenges of choosing ballet in a culture where vulnerability is often misunderstood.

Rather than asking what ballet reveals about masculinity, Skin and Grace asks a quieter question: what remains visible when performance ends, and only the person is left standing?

The first edition is limited to 600 copies, available by pre-order.