Anabel Ruiz (*1974) is a collage artist who was born in Havana, Cuba, in a Cuba that was picturesque, quirky and resourceful – a Cuba that laughed through the pain – characteristics that are reflected in her own persona. Her family left Cuba for Spain when she was 9, and it was here that her formation as a self-taught artist commenced. Her work makes her a contemporary “hunter-gatherer”; and in her own words, collage “allows her to gather and organize disparate elements found in magazines, books or other printed media, to present a unified work of art. It’s a lot like life, that presents us with fresh and new possibilities every single day, while it’s our job to choose and perform, making us co-creators in this already created universe”.