Irvin Morazan "The Return of Xipe Totec"

Jack the Pelican Presents

poster for Irvin Morazan "The Return of Xipe Totec"

This event has ended.

On his opening night, Irvin Morazan, wearing a giant Mayan-inspired headdress that is blood red and fleshy in the image of a horse, enters the main door of the gallery, down the long processional corridor to a ritual chamber in the rear. There, seated on a throne is another headdressed "priest." Intensely solemn, otherworldly music sets the tone, as the two assume positions opposite each other—sporting erections—and, with the aid of microwave ovens, proceed to create more and more of this fleshy substance, which they then throw at each other in messy combat.

Needless to say, this is not a literal re-performance of Aztec ritual. The Aztecs didn't have horses—let alone microwaves. Nonetheless, it is inspired by the rich cultural history of the Pre-Columbians. Morazan, born in El Salvador, is indeed descended from Mayans. But he is educated in the US at the School of the Visual Arts (BA, 2003) and instead looks to what remains of his pre-Columbian visual and cultural heritage (much of it was systematically destroyed by the Spaniards) as rich source material for his own explorations in contemporary art.

After the performance, the headdresses and horse costume—along with the throne and the strewn aftermath of their war—remain parked in the gallery. As sculptures, they are gory and ominous as oversized carcasses, and as strangely beautiful as flesh itself.

Media

Schedule

from March 21, 2008 to April 20, 2008
Opening Reception: March 21, 7–9 pm.

Artist(s)

Irvin Morazan

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