LONDON.- CONEXIÓN at St. Mary Le Strand is a concrete example of dialogue between the Anglican Church, the Dominican Republic and the art of Lidia León to encourage coexistence of the individuals by integrating the language of art into architecture and the natural material into the sacred geometry of the space.

With this installation made of tobacco leaves, Lidia León Cabral has transformed St. Mary Le Strand - a beautiful example of the Baroque architecture in London- into a sort of agorà where diverse cultures can meet and live together. The tobacco plants, which situate the work in a Caribbean landscape and are a crucial part of the socioeconomic development of the Dominican Republic, are a recurring theme in LiLeón’s imagery: she was born and raised in a prominent family of tobacco farmers. In the hands of the artist-architect, these large leaves become a raw material to be used in construction, keeping the essential link to Mother Nature open. In 2021, CONEXIÓN represented the Dominican Republic Pavilion at the 17 International Architecture Biennale Exhibition in Venice. The installation answers the focus question “How will we live together?” elaborated by the curator of that year’s Biennale Hashmin Sarkis. The artwork was done by the artist site-specific for St. George’s Anglican Church of Venice. The collage of tobacco leaves on the panels was inspired by the church’s ancient stained-glass windows. It has been very successful!

On the 20th May 2021 the UK newspaper, Architect’s Journal, chose CONEXIÓN as one of the “Best of the rest”of the Biennale. As part of the inauguration, the last monograph book by Lidia León: "Te veo, me veo and artwork" will be presented by the curator, the art critic Roberta Semeraro in the presence of the artist, the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the UK, H.E. Elnio Durán, the Minister Counsellor of Cultural Affairs, Ligia Reid, and the Revd Canon Dr Peter Babington of St Mary Le Strand.