Art of Yances

Leaving the streets of Cartagena at thirteen for another country led Jorge A. Yances to appreciate

the importance of his birthplace and it marked the ending of a short period in his life spent absorbing

color and scene. His eyes’ impressions migrate into lasting impressions on his soul. Hence, Yances

transforms the external vision of Cartagena, visible to others in photographs and narration into

magical realism; the author reads the images behind the peripheral manifestation of the city.

It is true that the streets and balconies of Cartagena dance in full color, claiming us through

its visual beauty, but it is also true that those places keep the secrets, dreams, and hopes that only

some people are able to read. Indeed, it is through the teachings of Yances’ beloved aunt that he

began to decipher these shadowy images and transmit them to those who want to see. She taught

him that mere knowledge of techniques and values was not enough; he had to compose another

world in which reality and fantasy are embedded in lines and light and shadows to illustrate the true

world: both the obvious and the discovered blended together as real.

The works of “Cartagena Memories” are Yances’ vision of the double side of life where the

material is only a canvas for the spiritual being. These paintings demonstrate his creative translation,

deciphering, and fusing of the two levels of the world for others to see and enjoy.