A recent conservation accord signed by the United States and Cuba will be honored Friday in Havana with a 100-image exhibition of maritime landscapes by Key West photographer Jeffrey Cardenas. Naturalezas Gemelas/Twins in Nature pays tribute to the “sister sanctuaries” of Parque Nacional Guanahacabibes and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the environmental collaboration that aims to promote the conservation and sustainability of these marine protected areas.

The precedent-setting environmental agreement between US and Cuba was initiated late last year, creating a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among NOAA, the National Park Service, and Cuba’s National Center for Protected Areas that addresses the common and individual threats each face while recognizing the inextricable link they share through the flow of the ocean.
“Jeffrey’s photography is a visual touchstone to the MOU and at the same time, a step stone,” says Billy Causey, Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Regional Director of NOAA. “I see his exhibit as being crucial in one of the ways we can reach the public that may not understand how the biology and ecology work but certainly understand the beauty and importance they have to the environment.”

Cardenas, an award-winning photographer, writer, and acclaimed flats fishing guide, has documented the marine habitat of Cuba and the Florida Keys for decades, driven both by artistic motivation and a desire to bring about a greater awareness of their fragility.
“In Cuba, there are hundreds of miles of coastline that are still untouched, and thanks to good management practices in the US, unspoiled maritime habitat remains here, as well,” he says. “It’s important to document these places because of their vulnerability.”

The exhibit will take place at Sala de La Diversidad, Cuba’s prestigious environmental gallery, located in the heart of Havana Vieja where the government has focused restoration efforts. Caredenas’ study of sky, water, and shoreline in the sister sanctuaries will be exhibited throughout the gallery via framed and digitally-projected images and large text panels in both English and Spanish, revealing the political neutrality of nature while drawing upon the parallel between the two wild places and the mere 90 miles between them.

Though it is rare for American artists to exhibit in Cuba, it will be the second showing for Cardenas, whose first was a collaborative portrait project with photographer Yanela Pineiro at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, just days after the reconciliation agreement between President Obama and Raul Castro.
“If we can encourage people to develop a stronger level of stewardship while creating environmental representation and awareness of these areas, then I think we’ll have gone a long way to achieve the MOU goals,” says Causey. “Jeffrey’s art will be a catalyst in helping move those relationships forward.”

Naturalezas Gemelas/Twins in Nature will launch in honor World Environmental Day on June 5 and be exhibited until August, returning to the US for a showing at SALT Gallery in Key West at the end of 2016 beginning December 2. For more information, call Jeffrey Cardenas at [email protected].