‘A World Without Wifi’ is the depiction of an island in the middle of the Caribbean sea, preserved in time. It’s a place that has – so far – escaped the digital disruption of the Western world but a smartwatch on the wrist of a hip bookstore worker acts as a gentle reminder that change will eventually follow.

Trade embargoes continue to impose new sanctions and the newly-opened US Embassy in Havana remains empty and Cuba must stand still in time a little longer. In trying to escape the financial austerity which was at its zenith after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 90’s, Cuban culture thrives on the streets and in the fields. Selfie sticks are replaced with fishing spears and communities make a backbone for an island where ingenuity is everything. As the saying goes, the people of Cuba are, ‘attached to nothing but connected to everything.’

This project aims to capture is this connectivity – not via data or smartphone apps, but through skills passed down through generations and communities of cultural expression. These trips were created with the expertise of Cuba Private Travel who sponsored an exhibition at Paladar in Waterloo. Cuba Private Travel create luxury personalised vacations for the independent traveller, giving you exclusive access to the very heart of the island’s culture, landscape and people.