San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Chiapas, México
Exhibition featuring works by Maruch Méndez, Darwin Cruz, Gerardo K’ulej, Saúl Kak, PH Joel, P. T’ul Gómez, Manuel Guzmán, Raymundo López.
Maruch Méndez, with a wise laugh, rejects boasting as an “artist”, but the facts speak for themselves and for some of the most renowned museums in the country his paintings are masterpieces. Having participated in 2021-2023 in the exhibition Los Huecos del Agua (at the El Chopo Museum in CDMX and the Amparo Museum in Puebla) and in Maternar (University Museum of Contemporary Art), Galería MUY is very proud to present, in this exhibition, old and recent works by artist Maruch Méndez, along with selected works – and commented on by MM – from fellow artists, together discussing birds in Mayan/Zoque spiritual daily life.
The decision in favor of a dialogue between artists was Maruch’s. We emphasize that this breaks with a Western concept of individual authorship and genius and affirms that we are in an exhibition of works with individual/collective creativity, á la Maya/Zoque.
And the dialogue deepens even further with the wealth of information and revelation about messenger birds contained in the book by Maruch Méndez with Diana Rus, and participation by Margarita Martínez, titled Ch’ul Mut. Therefore, at the inauguration, MM and Diana discuss the results of four years of talk that resulted in this book about to be released. Consequently, Diana Rus is the main curator of this exhibition, and Martha Alejandro, John Burstein, Darwin Cruz, Saúl Kak, Gerardo K’ulej and PH Joel also collaborated.
What ornithologists call “discover by looking”, the Mayans/Zoques understand as “visits” with missions to
fulfill, collecting information and transmitting it. Maruch Méndez went back to the spiritual unconscious, recounting the meanings of the birds’ visits in her life and especially in the Tsotsil-Chamula worldview.
This exhibition encompasses two fundamental considerations of Galería MUY. First, the power of nature to provide elements – like birds – to teach cosmo-ethical-social structures. And second, operating in the world of art, the other way around: the creator (woman, older, self-taught) exercises leadership, authority and serves as a source of information and inspiration for the more formally trained creators. And that with mutual respect but not hierarchy.
Galería MUY
October – November 2023
REZO DIRIGIDO AL PÁJARO MENSAJERO
Kolaval ch’ul mayol, kolaval,
Chab’ijubtas ti jole,
Ti ko’ontone,
Ja’ li makal ti jbae,
Makal ti jsate,
Mu xka’I k’usi chilaj-oj
Mu xka’I mi oy k’usi ta jta te be,
Pere taje, lavalbun ti mantale, Kajval.
Ch’ul mut, ch’ul mayol.
Gracias, mensajero sagrado, gracias.
Has iluminado mi mente
¡Has hecho más sensible mi corazón!
Lo que no puedo saber
Lo que no puedo ver
Lo que podría matarme en el camino
Lo que podría encontrar en la carretera
Me informó por el mensaje, Señor.
Santo pájaro, santo siervo.
Artworks
Yajval vo' (Owner of the water) | Maruch Méndez
Maruch Méndez
Acrylic on canvas
65 x 45 cm
2020
He is the lord of the water, he is an angel. There are some birds beside him, called k’ul. The angel gives instructions to the birds. When the clouds are dark, when they are full of water, this gives instructions to the birds, and they begin to sing loudly. When the fog is thick, the devils also awaken. That’s why we must take care of the little children.
Kantilaetik (Candles) | Maruch Méndez
Acrylic on canvas
40 x 35 cm
2020
Candles are used in prayers to ask for health, and hens are offerings in prayers to request recovery.
Tu'ch'ich mut (Calandria bird) | Maruch Méndez
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 50 cm
2018
There is a boy who really likes the tuch’ich’ bird. When he hears the song of this bird, the boy searches for it, and when he finds it, he cuts the nest. After cutting it, he throws it down from the high place where the nest was hanging. When the eggs are still there, they break and he doesn’t use them. But when they are little birds, he eats them. He doesn’t throw away the nest; instead, he hangs it in his house to play with. When he finds the birds grown larger, he doesn’t kill them, but raises them. This is what the boy does, but once, when going to search for the nest and climbing the tree, unfortunately, he fell because the tree was already dry, and he injured one of his eyes when a splinter got stuck in it, losing his eye. So, the parents began advising not to search for the birds, and even more so, not to climb trees.
Candles (When a person gets sick) | Maruch Méndez
Acrylic on canvas
70 x 70 cm
2018
When one is sick, candles must be lit to ask for health, and also, a hen must be killed to ask for recovery.
Untitled | Maruch Méndez
Acrylic on canvas
30 x 20 cm
2018
It is a grandmother who learned about the birds while grazing. The birds bring food to their baby birds. But when they bring larvae and the babies throw them on the ground, it’s because they are going to become official birds, they will have work, and they don’t eat meat. The grandmother observes how the birds behave.
Owner of the land | Maruch Méndez
Acrylic on paper
60 x 50 cm
2019
The owner of the land controls death, and everyone is afraid of him. The three children below became gravely ill, their souls are inside the earth. The 0’, Owner of the Land, wants to tie the children with his chain until death. The chains tighten them, and the owls warn the family that they must pray to the earth. Then, a healer arrives to offer to the earth to cure the children, and she also looks for her herbs. The child on the mountain is an intermediary to receive the offering of pox. He informs the owner of the land that the children’s family has made the offering so that they may be freed and healed.
Oy jun vinik bat ta camposanto (The man who went to the cemetery) | Maruch Méndez
Monotype/print on paper and watercolor
29.5 x 19.5 cm
2023
The cornfield | Maruch Méndez
Monotype/print on paper
30 x 20 cm
2023
The work has to do with planting, when I planted. But it was a bad day, and although the corn grew, it didn’t turn out well. If the birth is not good, we don’t grow well. But if it’s a good day when we are born, we will reach old age. This is the same with corn. We plant, take care of the milpa, but if it’s a bad day, well, through God, the squirrels, the birds eat the flower or the very tender corn. There is plenty of milpa, and it may be a good day, and it may be close to the villages, so the animals don’t enter the milpa. Again, if it’s a bad, inappropriate day, of course, the squirrels, birds, and mice enter. It becomes ungrateful, there’s work, and it benefits the animals (under the dominion of deities). If the day is good, the milpa grows. This is the content of my work.
Owl | Raymundo López
Photographic print of painting
35 x 23 cm
2021
Raymundo López: I remember the pains of my childhood with the other children who were hiding somewhere in Aldama. We were many children playing. Many would get sick, and since we were all together, there was no hygiene. Every night, the owl would arrive and begin scratching the walls; maybe it knew that a child was going to die. I painted the owl in the work, which represents the symbol of death, and the clock that announced the arrival of the hour. Many children would get sick with stomach infections and then pass away because there was no one to take care of them.
Maruch Méndez: In Raymundo’s work, it is like the bankilal mayol (chief of police) or the ichin, always warning us, watching where we are, where we sleep, where we walk, advising us about life. The ichin bird is very accurate in what it says. It pronounces your name. And if it names you, you will not be able to do anything, as you cannot save yourself from death. On the other hand, if it is other, smaller birds, it is only a warning, where you can still be saved. It is just to keep us alert.
Ensign | Raymundo López
Oil on canvas
69 x 49 cm
2017
Raymundo López: The carnival celebration (k’in tajimoltik) takes place in the month of February. Since it occurs before the passion of Christ, the alferes and captains can shout, dance, and play. A rooster is hung, and the alferes and captains race on horseback, passing by to decapitate the rooster with their mouths. It is a symbol of Christ’s suffering and the shedding of his blood.
Maruch Méndez: The character holds a religious position in San Andrés, and the attire and practices are different. I have only attended the festivals in Chamula, but I cannot know what authority they hold, as I have never attended San Andrés.
Xulem vinik (Vulture man) | P. T’ul Gómez
Terracotta
23 x 13x 20 cm
2020
P. T’ul Gómez: Antún was a very lazy man. He went to clear land and asked for his tortilla. He laid down in the woods, watching the vultures and said to them, “Come down, let’s talk. Give me your clothes.” The vulture didn’t come down. He went back home. Every day, they gave him his tortilla, and he just ate. “How’s your work going?” his wife asked. “Oh, there’s quite a bit, but it’s not easy to do. There are so many logs!” Well, on the third day, the vulture came down. “What do you want?” it asked the man who was sleeping in the forest. “I don’t want anything. But if you could lend me your clothes, I would be so happy!” “Ah,” said the vulture. “But why don’t you like your work? Why don’t you work?” “Because work doesn’t work. I can’t do anything. It seems much better, like you flying in the sky. That’s not work, you just find your food.” “Ah, but you only see, but it’s really difficult. Either we find our food, or we go to bed hungry. Sometimes we settle for dung when there’s nothing else. We look where the steam from dead horses, dead sheep, and dead dogs rises. We eat, but not every day.” “But that doesn’t matter, if you lend me your clothes.” “Well, close your eyes.” The man closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he had turned into a vulture. “Are you here, woman?” asked the vulture now turned back into a man. “Yes, here I am,” the woman replied. “Eat,” said the woman. “What is that smell?” “I don’t know. Do you smell something?” “I don’t!” The man, now a vulture, worked hard. In only two or three days, he had cleared a lot of land. It went on like that every day. “What smells so bad?” said the woman. The man replied, “I tell you the truth. I am not your husband. I am a vulture, because your husband is too lazy! He asked for my clothes, took them, and left.”
The one who had been her husband arrived. He was fluttering outside, gathering corn kernels. He waited for her to go out to do her business, then he would go and eat. “That’s your husband,” said her replacement. “Oh,” she said, not knowing it was her husband. She chased him away, hitting him, but there was no way for him to eat. He
Maruch Méndez: This work by Pedro represents the xulem, the vulture, a bird that, according to popular beliefs, is not considered sacred but rather linked to the devil. It is said that this bird has the ability to observe people, and if the devil has sent it, its presence is a sign that the person belongs to the devil. In this interpretation, the vulture is seen as a dark messenger, signaling with its excrement that the person is under the domain of evil.
The vulture is one of three birds associated with the devil. In addition to it, there are the eagles (shik) and the jimjim k’abal, which is the bird responsible for finding food for the demons. These three types of birds act as symbols of evil and are considered omens of misfortune or demonic influence in people’s lives.
Owl | P. T’ul Gómez
Terracotta
30 x 10 x 17
2020
P. T’ul Gómez: When the owl appears, it warns us that something is going to happen; they are messengers.
Maruch Méndez: In Pedro’s work, this is the sacred bird, a worker of God, to give warning. It waits at the door and also on a table. When it returns from giving the warning, it reports how things went regarding the message it delivered, whether it was liked or disliked.
There are people who like it, and others who dislike it, and they tell the birds to go away, speaking rudely. And so, the birds report this situation, saying that the warning wasn’t taken well. Then, the one who is waiting for the report takes into account what was responded, and then informs the main authority so that they are aware of the person’s reaction. This is life; many take the warnings seriously, and many others ignore the warnings that the birds give.
Those who do listen, even if they are lying down, will quickly get up, even kneel, and thank the birds for the messages in their lives. Then the birds report this as well.
Pedro’s work represents the bird of our Mother Earth, the sacred bird. It is the one in charge of giving warnings from our Mother Earth and is called Ts’ibarron mut. But it doesn’t bring bad news; instead, when you are carrying a burden, it can give you encouragement, as in your activity. And if this bird comes near you, it is a good sign, meaning that Mother Earth supports you in all your work or daily activities.
Mut (Bird) | Gerardo K'ulej
River stone
2017
Gerardo K’ulej: I have traveled to different places in search of inner peace between my mind and spirit. The journeys become lessons. Echoes of memory flutter in every mountain, mountains that hold the flying spirits of us Tsotsiles. Long-distance travels, learning from each culture, appreciating my own culture, my body tires, dismantling each feather of the beautiful quetzal, the bird of identity of an ancient culture.
Maruch Méndez: Regarding Gerardo’s work, it is evident that it represents a sacred bird, the “great bird.” This bird is like “mayol” (the police). It is very important and listens to everything that comes out of God’s mouth about us. This, our “Big Brother Bird,” can send the smaller birds, such as itzinal mayoletik, k’uxk’ux (owl), tzunun (hummingbird), and others. The birds are the ones who give us warnings in our lives. Sometimes the smaller birds come to give us warnings, but people might not notice them. However, when the great bird rises, we must take it seriously, because the warning given by the great bird is definitive.
Mountain in agony | Darwin Cruz
Oil, thread on wood
40 x 30 x 6 cm
2023
Darwin Cruz: From the “Carbon” series, this piece aims to bring to the forefront the theme of the desacralization of nature as a maternal entity that shelters us as indigenous peoples. The phenomenon of migration, capitalism, and globalization is transforming our way of thinking, the natural landscape, and our spiritual connection.
Maruch Méndez: This little bird is similar to sacturin mut, the bird that speaks to God. However, when night falls, it begins to sing and suddenly arrives at your house, just to bring joy to your daily activities.
Mayan Dreams | Manuel Guzmán
Oil on canvas
60 x 50 cm
2018
Manuel Guzmán: I painted what I saw in my dream, where birds were flying in the sky, there was a temple, and other animals in the field. “Tuhil mut (pestilent bird).”
Maruch Méndez: This work by Manuel, where he has drawn three birds, is called tuch’ich. These are birds of the devil, as they block your path if they see you walking. They always travel in groups and begin to sing. If they block your way, it is to give you a warning that you will soon pass away, even if you had much life ahead of you. The demons shorten your life.
Tuhil mut (Pestilent bird) | PH Joel
Stucco on stone, natural pigments, feathers, and beeswax.
47 x 29 cm
2023
PH Joel: The piece refers to the vultures and the increase of these birds in the villages of the jungle. As it is their nature to chase what stinks to feed, they are increasingly approaching the growing garbage dumps on the outskirts of the villages. Spotting more vultures than other birds means that we already stink, even if we have not yet perished, just like our lakes and streams that continue to dry up.
Maruch Méndez: Joel’s work features the vulture, which is the major bird of the devil. It is like the devil’s scribe. This bird does not typically fly around; instead, it stays in one place, writing.
Joh'ndshi (Birds) | Saúl Kak
Intervened photography
24 x 34 cm
2023
Saúl Kak: An elder from my community tells us that every morning the birds sing to God for another day of life. They give thanks because they will have food and fulfill their day. And in the evening, they thank God for the day that has passed. Meanwhile, we as human beings often forget to greet and thank nature, but they teach us how we should behave. Regardless of whether we live in the countryside or the city, we should always give thanks to the Creator.
Maruch Méndez: Saúl’s work features the t’siba mut bird. There are larger birds, but these are younger siblings, just messengers of God. If something is going to happen, He sends them to warn you, but they are not evil.