Elija Agustus

Born into a princely family, that fled from revoltion, Agustus was separated at infancy from them, and found himself growing up in an orphanage outside of Baton Rouge, Louisana. As a small child, inspired by a Cuban legend about a small man who lived in the dark waters of the village of Batey on the rivers, in reality what could bring that story to the popular imagination is that the marginalized people were not extinct in its entirety the knowledge they had of how to fish and marry. Years later, skeletons of very short people were found. They were not registered as normal inhabitants, but as an indigenous settlement in the Batey area.

I remember that as a child, playing in the streams near the orphanage, when the rising of the estuary that fed, what we called, the hope river in touched the highest parts of the banks, we discovered a clay pot that we played with until they broke, they also told us about the owner of the water who lived in a deep and dark pool as soon as the sun shone the jucaro trees’ leaves did not let the light penetrate through to the waters. Our elders told us when we were back at the orphanage not to go fishing or hunting near the streams. They said they shouldn't let us fish there or the pool owner of the...

Anciennes études en dessin figuratif, Universite Paris.

Artist Residency, Jamaica, NY.

Estudies tècnics anteriors Ecole Muset, Catalan.

Permanent Exhibitions

• Jamaica Hospital, Community Room, NY
• Hostel Studio, Barcelona
• The Manor on the Green, Datchet, UK