The name Erontika is a wordplay with two Greek terms: the neutral plural of ἐρωτικόϛ (erotic, amatory) and the present participle of εἰμί (to be). The approximate translation is “the Being of Love” or “the Love of the Being”. These works were first exhibited in Camaguey, Cuba, as part of the project The Universal Love, curated by Rafael Almanza. The Universal Love included The Divine Love, by Cuban artist Maydelina Perez Lezcano, and Erontika. The Divine Love, based on Rafael Almanza’s sonnets, drew on the Christian conception and dimensions of Love. Erontika, on the other hand, explored the cosmogonic and philosophical notion of Eros. These exhibitions were displayed in two different locations. The Divine Love in El Carmen Church, and Erontika in San Juan de Dios Museum. Although separated in space, a peculiar performance connected them: an oil lamp was transported in procession from San Juan de Dios to El Carmen, symbolizing the pass from the Hellenic era to the Christian era.
