San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Chiapas, México
The Galería MUY is pleased and proud to present works by Maruch Méndez, offering a chance to appreciate her highly prolific production over the past two years and to discover the importance of her practice for the other MUY artists.
Having immersed herself in the art of aesthetic reflection since the 1980s—through sung poetry as performance—her work took a new direction when she joined the GaleMUY project in 2015, incorporating sculpture, installation, and painting. We witness a great sense of freedom taken by this intuitive (non-academically trained) artist, who has succeeded in defining a completely unique style, with an artistic proposal all her own: she narrates events from her lived experience with an ethical interpretation expressed in animist terms. Her paintings, which she always explains with a big, knowing laugh, seem to tell us something meaningful—perhaps that she herself is truly her own work of art. She can also be seen as a medium through which the powers and wisdom of her people find expression.
More than one Maya or Zoque artist has shared that Maruch’s work has been influential for them. Méndez has sparked great interest among artists of Maya/Zoque descent. This is explored in the current exhibition.
P.T’ul, for example, has identified Maruch’s closeness to her materials as fundamental to his own beginnings as a ceramic sculptor. Antún Kojtom admires her compositions in the style of classical visual narrative. Saúl Kak recognizes a vitality in her schematic style that resonates with his own expressive painting process. PH Joel sees in her work a kind of natural archaeology that mirrors his own practice of classical rescue and re-appropriation. Several filmmakers and poets (Humberto 13, Xun Betán) are intrigued by Méndez’s verbal aesthetics. Margarita (with Diana Rus)—as close colleagues of the artist—value the living archive of endangered knowledge she carries, especially regarding the figure of birds and much more. Cecy Gómez appreciates the technique Maruch employs in her textile art. Dyg’nojoch seeks her out to collaborate on murals. At the core, it is the spiritual authenticity that artists recognize in her work—and in themselves.
We are showing works by Maruch Méndez at MUY with the invitation for artists to be inspired to make their own commentaries and works in dialogue with those of the master artist. We will be compiling these dialogic pieces to build a more complex exhibition in honor of Maruch.
J Burstein W
April 2021
Artworks
Tu’ch’ich mut (Bird)
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 50 cm
2018
“There is a boy who really likes the tuch’ich’ bird. Whenever he hears its song, he goes looking for it, and when he finds it, he cuts down its nest. After cutting it, he throws it down from where it was hanging. If there are only eggs inside, they break when they hit the ground and he doesn’t use them. But if there are baby 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 already a bit grown, he doesn’t kill them—he raises them. That’s what the boy does. But one day, when he went to get a nest and climbed a tree, unfortunately he fell, because the tree was already dry. He injured one of his eyes—when he fell, a splinter pierced his eye, and he lost it. From then on, his parents warned him not to go looking for birds anymore, and especially not to climb trees.”
Jchabajon chon (Labrador snake)
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 50 cm
2018
“Those of us who plant our milpa far from home, not close by—well, once a boy was sent to clean the milpa, but he came running back, crying, because he had found a snake under the corn plants. He told his sister to go with him to see it, and when they got there, they saw that the snake was dead—because the boy had killed it before running away. So the girl started to cry because the snake had been killed. But because of her tears, the snake came back to life. That night, when the girl went to sleep, she dreamed that someone was thanking her for bringing it back to life. The snake told her that it didn’t harm anyone, and that it actually helps with the cleaning work in the fields.
Since then, we no longer kill that snake—we leave it in peace and do it no harm. It has a black back and a red belly. If you see that in your field, it’s a sign of good luck, because your milpa will grow well and won’t spoil.”
Jsut’ub ik (Whirlwind)
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 70 cm
2018
“This is a place called Xila Ton, where a whirlwind was born—it looked like a giant snake. Near that place there was a house, and the whirlwind swept through it, taking all the clothes. The woman who lived there started screaming. Then, the young woman saw a vulture and asked it to please return her clothes, but it didn’t pay attention. Then a beetle appeared, and the young woman asked the same of the beetle—that it return her clothes. The beetle did so, and the whirlwind returned to the place where it had come from, and all the clothes returned to the young woman’s house.
By then, many women had gathered, because what they had seen was not normal. So they looked for a healer, to prevent any harm. They performed a ritual with smoke, honey, and incense. They kept the clothes for three days and told the young woman to stay there too, because the healer said it might be a bad omen. But the young woman dreamed it wasn’t something bad—instead, it was a sign of good luck, and that she would be given a job: she would become a healer.
And now, she heals illnesses quickly. She can also cure sheep and horses when they get sick. People pay her well, whether she heals people or animals. The medicines she uses are vankilal (Moy), lime, and garlic.”
Cemetery
Acrylic on canvas
50 x 60 cm
2018
“It is the spirits of our ancestors who accompany us on the first day of November. We prepare food for them, we offer honey, we extend our hand and pray, saying to our ancestors: You are now beneath the cross; may your spirit rest and visit us in these moments; receive the little that we have to give. We end by saying: We’ll see you next year; be our intermediary; we will be waiting for you again next year.”
K’atinbak (Hell)
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 50 cm
2018
“This is about the underworld; it shows that there are people full of evil and others with less, and they are already paying for their sins. In the painting, there is a devil who was once a person—but a very wicked one: he abused his sisters and even his daughters. For that reason, he grew a tail. In fact, when that person was alive, he spent three days and nights in jail, where they didn’t give him food. The only thing they gave him were three bundles of dry stalks and three bundles of grass, because they told him that’s what those who behave like animals deserve. And in hell, they no longer gave him water. On the other hand, those who didn’t sin much are given a little water. The two people shown at the bottom of the painting are given water.”
The devil's work
Acrylic on canvas
67 x 80 cm
2018
“People nowadays say that life has gotten really bad: both women and men are hanging themselves. But in reality, it’s the devil who is influencing those actions. That’s what happened in my village: a young woman wasn’t allowed to marry a boy she liked, and she hanged herself. And the same happened with a young man who wasn’t given permission to marry a girl he had met—he also hanged himself. It is the devil who influences this, because he is always chasing after us, watching us, and trying to make us fall and do things like what those young people did.”
Candles (When a person gets sick)
Acrylic on canvas
70 x 70 cm
2018
“When someone is sick, candles must be lit to ask for health, and a chicken must also be sacrificed to ask for recovery.”
Xch’ulel zorro (Fox spirit)
Acrylic on canvas
66 x 64 cm
2019
“This little group of children are school students. On the left side are three teachers. The children were very playful, they didn’t understand, they didn’t obey; these teachers had no patience with them and would hit them. They had a stick and would hit them on the buttocks and on the head. And the children started to lose their senses, they began having comprehension problems. Then one of the mothers went to complain to the community agent because her children had been harmed. They decided to dismiss the teachers, until a new teacher arrived. She spoke to the children, took them under the trees, gave them apples, talked to them with kindness, and also prayed a lot to God, asking Him to help the children understand. And little by little, they improved. The teacher realized that the children had nahuales—animal spirit companions—specifically, foxes. And when someone has a fox as a nahual, they tend to be very playful, just having fun. That’s why they behaved that way. So the teacher changed their nahuales, and after she did, they became obedient children and improved. That teacher worked with them for many years, almost thirty years, and in the end, she successfully prepared two of them very well.”
Yajval vo (Owner of water)
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’’l. The angel gives instructions to the birds. When the clouds are dark, when they are full of water, he gives instructions to the birds and they begin to sing loudly. Also, when the mists are thick, the devils wake up. That’s why we must take care of the young children.”
As a mother
Acrylic on canvas
154 x 180 cm
2020
“In this work, I painted how I raised six children. When they ask me, I tell them how I took them as my own children, and how I had to take care of them because they were very small. When their father drowned while drinking pox, I had to raise them and give them an education, because their mother didn’t know how to work and had no way to support them. So, I had to take charge of them. As they grew up, I saw them graduate from school. Back then, there weren’t as many resources as there are now. At that time, I had to cover the graduation expenses. There was a party for their sixth-grade graduation, and I managed to get money for that and for the godparents. They were very good, and I always advised them to pay attention and not skip classes, and they did well. They all studied until the sixth grade, and after finishing elementary school, I baptized them all. I had to tell my friends in San Cristóbal to be godparents, and that’s how they were baptized. I considered them my children and asked God for them to grow well, for them not to get lost one day. Sometimes I cried a little because I wanted the best for them, because I loved them, even though I didn’t have a child of my own. I considered them my children, and I gave them everything they needed. To this day, they still remember me. Every year, they always come back to visit me, they return to my house, and we spend time together on All Saints’ Day. They were very small when they arrived. I remember when they came, they would ask for chichi (milk), and at night they would start crying. I would get up and give them tortillas and something to eat.”
Three women
Acrylic on canvas
180 x 173 cm
2021
“In this work, it talks about three women who come from the red land above Ixtapa. They would come to pasture their sheep in a place where they could find good grass. These three girls always sat on a wavy rock, and they sat there all the time. Every time they went to pasture their sheep, they would only sit in that place. Months went by, and they remained there, but they didn’t know that this place was a water source for animals like the tiger, the fox, the badger, the armadillo, and the squirrel. Since they arrived very early and stayed until very late, the tiger kept walking around and around, wanting to drink water, but couldn’t because the girls were there.
Since the jaguar was thirsty, it asked the snakes to scare the girls away. When the snakes arrived at the spot where the girls were sitting, the girls weren’t scared and said that the snakes had come to rest on the rocks. There were three streams above, and the owner of the stream shouted loudly: ‘Girls, something will happen to all three of you, something will happen in your lives.’ They didn’t pay attention and didn’t give importance to what they heard.
The next day, they went to pasture again and sat in the same place. Suddenly, they disappeared. In the blink of an eye, they were no longer there—they turned into huge rocks. Before, they would sit all day, but now their punishment is to stand there forever, turned into large rocks. Their parents cried and cried because they searched for their daughters everywhere but never found them. They were punished for making the children of nature suffer by blocking the place where they drank water.”
Smoton jk’ajvaltik (Gift from God)
Acrylic on canvas
180 x 152 cm
2021
“I adopted six children, I adopted them when they were very young, from 2, 3, 5, and at most 6 years old. When I adopted them, I took full responsibility, providing them with food, clothing, and education. When the children were three years old, I sent them to school (kindergarten), and I would send them well-fed because we didn’t have money, so I couldn’t send them with extra spending money. That’s why they went to school already having breakfast. I would cook them vegetables, and they wanted chili in their meals. They would eat three or four tortillas. When they came back from school, I would have their meals ready: pumpkin with corn and red potatoes (harvested from my garden). They ate very well, and they didn’t suffer from hunger. Since I didn’t have money, I couldn’t buy beef, chicken, or pork for their meals, but I knew how to eat field rats and how to set traps. We would go to the woods with the children to catch the rats, and that was the meat we ate.
The children wore traditional clothes; they never wore city clothes. They were very happy, loved school, always smiled, and sang with joy for life.”
“In the painting, there is a horse that was tied near my cornfield. On one occasion, it got loose and ate all my corn. The children started crying because there was no corn or maize anymore.”
“The rabbit in the painting was the one that ate all the vegetables we planted in the garden. Every day, it would come to eat. When the children saw the rabbit, they would call the dog to chase it. The dog would chase the rabbit in the forest, and after a while, the dog would return with its belly full. There’s also a aj-te’ tree (a medicinal tree), where the children spent their time playing, climbing the tree, and eating the fruit, sprinkling it with salt or sugar. That’s how they spent the whole day happily. There’s a character who gave the children their spirit (the children’s father), who drowned after drinking alcohol. He was sitting, and while he was drinking, he drowned, and after a while, he died.”
Our root
Acrylic on canvas
30 x 20 cm
2020
“This child is our root, here it shows how the mouse is very happy because of the child, who is our root.”
Our root
Acrylic on canvas
35 x 40 cm
2020
This child is our root, when he was born, the mouse became very happy and played the guitar out of joy for the birth, the circles with dots are stars.
Owner of the land
Acrylic on canvas
35 x 40 cm
2020
“One speaks to the owner of the land for health, well-being, and to prevent bacteria and viruses from affecting people.”
The hills
Acrylic on canvas
35 x 40 cm
2020
“These three hills are places where people go with their candles to improve their economy, but due to the coronavirus, people also go to the hills for their health, asking to be physically protected and for no illness to be allowed to affect people. This is what they say to the owners of the hills.”