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The Art of Yubi Kirindongo

By Montague Kobbe

What strikes you most when you stand before an original Kirindongo is not its size, nor its ingenuousness, but the sheer uniqueness of what lies before you.

Born in Curaçao in 1946, Hubert “Yubi” Kirindongo has spent more than thirty years shaping practically every conceivable material, from scrap metal and driftwood to plastic bottles and discarded car tires. His style is quintessentially Curaçao, often depicting indigenous animals and traditional masks, but it also imparts a subtle religious feeling, accentuated in his totem-like pieces and in sculptures that evoke a Christian background.
 
 Ulitimately, Yubi’s work is  about energy and regeneration. Kirindongo manages to imprint discarded material (junk, really) with solemnity. He makes beautiful, admirable pieces out of car fenders; he turns existing objects into something else and gives them a new meaning, a new life. There is much to be derived by taking a closer look at Yubi Kirindongo’s art. A tour of his gallery and statue garden at Ser’ i Kandela Kaya A #390 is highly recommended.