Artist Statement:
It is said that my people, commonly known as “Huichol” but originally “Wixarika” (singular) “Wixaritaari” (plural) is one of those that most conserves its ancestral practices among the native peoples of Mexico. In this art, we traditionally use a special preparation of beeswax instead of industrial glues due to several advantages. It is part of the ancestral technique, it is not toxic and in the event of some involuntary damage to the piece, it can be easily repaired. With dry glue this would not be possible. The only indication is not to place it in direct sunlight or intense heat.
On the layer of beeswax, the beads are placed one by one, shaping the images, this technique is the “Huichol art of beads” or painting with beads, it should be noted that we do not use previous patterns or drawings. We learn this since we are children and the experience, as well as our connection with ancestral knowledge, allows us to create in the moment, according to the present energies.
From an artistic point of view:
- I have called this piece «Tamatsi Kam+rawi» “Our older brother wolf, guide and guardian of the knowledge of the mountains”. In our cosmogony, the wolf is the limit between the feline and canine universe.
- The central image is “K+puri”, which symbolizes the vital essence in its six dimensions and corresponds to the representation of our medical plant, the peyote, it is a type of cactus that for us Wixaritaari symbolizes pilgrimage search, the sacralization of destiny.
- Beetles represent the metamorphosis, the transit from the earthly world to the spiritual one in the ancestral pilgrimage.
- Frets represent the movement of water in waves, pilgrimage, and constant movement.
- The Maize plant represents mother earth and the nutritional base of our ancestors.
- A lit candle represents the plant of life.
- Jaguars represent the guardians of grandfather fire, within them also peyote flowers.
- Peyote plants, sacred medical plants.
As you can see, like the other native peoples of the world, everything concerns elements of nature.
— Puwari
