COYOLCHAUQUI OR THE PRELUDE TO THE FRAGMENTS

installation view

Composite view of seven channels of video. 1:44 min

Coyolchauqui or Prelude to the Fragments consists of seven silent 1min. video sequences presented in seven different TV monitors (or as a single channel piece). This TV monitors are placed on the floor forming a circle looking upward. The images of these videos consist of parts of the body performing various actions such as: hands being painted with black ink, hands playing with a dictionary, and other parts of the body submerging in water with ink. The arrangement of the TV sets is based on the layout of the stone sculpture that depicts the Coyolchauqui*.

With this piece I began an ongoing exploration about mythical feminine figures that have influenced the development of the subjectivity of an idea of Mexican women.
This piece addresses various layers of meaning through visual metaphors and conections between conceptions of water, ink and the body. For instance, the water as a symbol of cleansing and of returning to one’s origin. The ink as a symbol of rational thought, of the written language, of a different structure one has to learn to communicate, as well as an element that mixes with water. The body as a marker of our existence, as the mediator between these two elements, as well as the carrier of all sensuous experiences.

*An Aztec goddess, one of the first woman in the myth of creation, that represents a fragmented woman after encountering a fight with her brother and mother.

Installed in seven monitors inside black boxes, connected in series.
This project was shown as part of the exhibition CHANGE OF STATE at the " The Gallery", York University 2001.

video stills