Helena Bacardí Echo Origins – Bakuba (1980)

Helena Bacardí Echo Origins begins with Bakuba (1980), a reference to the name of a West African people, many of whom ended up in Cuba as slaves. Although the island’s original name, Fernandina (later Isla Juana by the Spanish), comes from the Taino native language meaning “rich earth,” the sculpture reflects Helena’s exploration of cultural memory and identity.

Inspiration and Early Work

The sculpture references the style of her first work made at the studio of HNL in Madrid, where Helena studied and worked. A friend of her mentor, Leandro Mbomio, a sculptor from Equatorial Guinea, saw the work in progress and immediately recognized its African or Caribbean roots, even without knowing her personally.

Culture, Memory, and Form

The piece raises questions about how culture is transmitted, as Helena has no conscious memories of Cuba; she left the island at age four. The form emerged directly from her experience, expressing mourning and a sense of emptiness — a pure emotional echo captured in clay.

Emotional and Cultural Echoes

Bakuba embodies both personal and ancestral memory, showing how identity, emotion, and cultural echoes merge in Helena Bacardí’s sculptural practice.