Yoan Capote’s Requiem (Atardecer), 2025, is a new addition to the artist's coveted series. Requiem was inspired by a 2019 visit to Italy where he studied the dramatic scenes of martyrdom, judgment, and expulsion in Medieval and early Renaissance art, reflected in the tondo format of the present work. Capote found striking parallels between these historical narratives and contemporary realities. Deeply moved by news of migrants drowning in the Mediterranean – tragedies that echoed the plight of those lost in the Caribbean Sea, including from his native Cuba – Capote channelled this visceral response into Requiem.

Crafted from gold leaf, fishhooks, and nails, the works juxtapose the celestial beauty of gilded horizons, evoking the sacred splendour of Byzantine mosaics and Renaissance masterpieces, with the stark materiality of embedded fishhooks, stained with traces of human struggle. This tension between beauty and pain highlights the peril and sacrifice inherent in the pursuit of a better life, creating a dialogue between past and present.

Rooted in Capote’s Cuban heritage and shaped by global migration crises, Requiem is both a lament and a reflection, merging poetic beauty with urgent social commentary to explore the enduring human desire to transcend borders, both physical and spiritual.