Clay, charcoal, projected video, dried corn, fabric died with clay, string.
The belly of a paired-down church lit up by projected faces that move in sync--together their eyes follow the largest growing population of Mexicans on America’s map. Opposite and mirroring them are two outlined nuns with porcelain hands fused to ceramic corn holders; the corn’s stem as the wick of a candle. Cathedral-like windows lead to an alter of ceramic horses each holding one large corn representing a crop. Corn was first domesticated in Mexico over ten thousand years ago. Each of the ceramic hand sculptures is made to fit not dried corn, but fresh corn. Holding up our history.
The clay here also has connotations. The black clay is basaltic clay, the ancient Mesopotamian material from which most of the first human-made objects were made, so it has crucial historical importance. The red clay, Terracotta, has Pre-Columbian roots and was used exclusively until the 14th century when Europeans colonized and brought stoneware. Terracotta also has very utilitarian associations and was used for building ancient homes.