Mexico City
A body of work from my travels to Mexico City from October 22nd - November 10th 2009.
I spent some time working with Angel Flores, a local printmaker who taught me his low-tech methods of plate etching. This is a small 2 plate etching of a skull.
Upon my return I produced a silkscreen print of the many different skulls I saw during Day of the Dead.
I also photographed the many beautiful souvenirs I had returned with to act as a cover image to this body of work.
Most significantly I produced a short moving collage where every frame was worked on by hand, using, pens, pastels and a photocopier. I have worked over stills and moving imagery that have captured soley from the trip using a video camera, a disposable camera, a digital camera and a holga.
The animation explores the overwhelming experience of being immersed into such a rich culture, in which for the most part, i was unable to understand and be understood through language barriers.
The poem 'Between Going and Staying' by Mexican poet Octavio Paz was provided a rhythm to my travels.
The film itself is set in a cigar box, much like a typical Mexican cigar box shrine, often containing offerings of gratitude, or prayers.