Manuel Piña, who studied mechanical engineering, began his artistic practice in the 1990s with photography and video works. The subjects of his earlier works were urban landscapes—primarily architectural and urban spaces. He believes that these “can be seen as a collection of signs and evidences gathered to create narratives around power, history and social relations,” which would become recurring themes in Piña’s works. The artist is particularly interested in the Cuban Revolution and the ways that photographs have been used as instruments to accrue political power. More recently, Piña’s practice has turned to the passage of time as a theme. His late works have also tended towards abstraction.