In the large, brick lined yard where chickens and pigs used to roam sits an old rusty truck, that Federico’s uncle had wished to fix up. Rebar sprouts everywhere with the hope for future building and development.
We felt it could rise from the dead and perhaps express some art spirt. We decided to collaborate and paint the truck bright pink and bring it back to life.
We found robotic bump and turn toys and deconstructed them.
I wanted the toys to manifest their spirit in machine drawings.
The robotic toys were further deconstructed, rewired into a totem called the Angel of Car Death, (Carro Angel de Muerte) now rises from the empty hood, where the motor would be. The toys produced two drawings one eerily displayed a skull. The robotic toys were wired to and controlled with an Arduino micro controller.
All was displayed in the Concina de Humo Gallery, Federico’s moms smoke kitchen turned into a gallery. I LOVE Mexico and the culture.
It needed feathers to reflect the turkeys and chickens in every yard and angel wings in every home and I asked Matthew Sibley a resident with excellent Spanish, if he could ask the uncle and Aurelia Xique for waste chicken feathers. Soon Federico’s’ 73 years old grandmother arrived with a bag of freshly plucked chicken feathers.
I felt badly that perhaps the chicken has been plucked for this artwork, though happy the chicken would not go to waste in this community where free range chickens are part of many family meals. Federico purchased other colored feathers in Cholula and I glued them to the totem which angelized the work of adorned and deconstructed toys.
At dark the totem was turned on to the joy of the children and families.
We found a wonderful city and a warm community with extended family of Federico Cuatlacuatl and so many talented artists. This well funded residency was about using what is at hand and available in the community and creating art.
It was organized by Federico with the support of the Sophia Quintara Arts Center in Toledo Ohio. Everyone just stops in the streets including Federico Cuatlacuatl grandfather (the man that the residency was named after) with extended conversations, without the pressure and speed of modern society.
There are 365 churches in Cholula alone and each house has a shrine in this deeply devout and loving community.
