Pérez Art Museum Miami Debuts “El Monte,” a Multisensory Exploration of Afro-Cuban Spirituality by Elliot & Erick Jiménez
- Miami Living Team
- 14 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) has opened El Monte, a new solo exhibition by Miami-born identical twins and photographers Elliot and Erick Jiménez. Running from August 28, 2025, the exhibition marks the artists’ first solo museum show and their debut in installation, sculpture, and mixed media, expanding their practice beyond photography.
One to Bind/Elliot and Erick Jiménez: El Monte
Named after Cuban ethnographer Lydia Cabrera’s seminal 1954 book on Afro-Cuban spirituality, El Monte draws viewers into the rich cosmologies of Lucumí (also known as Santería or Regla de Ocha). The work also reflects the twins’ personal experiences as first-generation Cuban Americans and explores the enduring tensions between Western art history and diasporic spirituality.
At the heart of the exhibition are the artists’ signature photographic works, depicting anonymous "shadow figures" inspired by Lucumí deities. These faceless subjects, dressed in elaborate costuming and masks, challenge the viewer’s expectations and reference the hidden nature of Afro-Caribbean religious practice. Their anonymity evokes a universal, spiritual presence while also speaking to historic and ongoing persecution.
Using in-camera techniques, set design, and garments created in collaboration with fashion designer Willy Chavarria, the Jiménez twins blend influences from Western art—such as impressionism—with sacred Afro-Cuban themes. The resulting images straddle the line between photography and painting, realism and mysticism.
The immersive installation further deepens the experience. Visitors enter a dimly lit space meant to evoke a nocturnal forest, where sculptural elements, antiques, and a central Ceiba tree trunk lead to a twin-chambered sanctuary. Designed to reflect both a forest and a chapel, this space represents duality, ritual, and personal history—key themes in the artists’ work.
Daphne by Elliot & Erick Jiménez Large
“El Monte speaks to identity, belonging, and the liminal space between cultures,” said the artists. “It’s a visual meditation on being both Cuban and American, visible and invisible, sacred and contemporary.”
Curated by PAMM Associate Curator Maritza M. Lacayo, the exhibition builds a bridge between Miami’s Caribbean communities and their spiritual traditions. “The gallery becomes a place of mystery and reverence,” said Lacayo. “It’s a new way of seeing photography and engaging with culture.”
El Monte is organized with the support of Goya Foods and additional sponsorship from Basil Chidi Funk.
Exhibition Info
Elliot and Erick Jiménez: El Monte
Location: Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)
Dates: Opened on August 28, 2025
Curated by: Maritza M. Lacayo, Associate Curator
For more information, visit pamm.org.