Exhibition Dates: September 23, 2023—December 8, 2023
Sik'inik chukojol cholaj, chukojol nïm taq jay /Gritos, voces entre surcos, entre edificios by Ángel Poyón y Fernando Poyón.
LaPau Gallery is pleased to announce Sik'inik chukojol cholaj, chukojol nïm taq jay Gritos, voces entre surcos, entre edificios. The exhibition is curated by Kaqjay Chi Tz'i' Ya', a Kaqchikel Mayan collective dedicated to the reconstruction of the history, memory, and identity of Patzicía, Guatemala. As in its first iteration at the Centro Cultural Aj Sya’, Sik'inik chukojol cholaj, chukojol nïm taq jay is informed by communal labor and ancestral memories of the cornfield. The artworks in the exhibition occupy multitemporal registers that account for the long count of ancient and indigenous calendars. In the Mayan worldview, objects have a will and powers. Kaqjay members have written about the strength of objects. For them, things and beings possess k'u'x, a vital energy that, through translation, is understood as "a soul, a center, an essence, a heart." The works in this exhibition provide a bridge to be in community with ancestors and are part of the ongoing survival efforts of the Kaqchikel people across the globe.
Angel Poyón's artworks arised from realizing that autonomy is achievable by working the land towards food autonomy until collective land ownership is returned to Indigenous peoples. Angel combines agricultural and politically charged anthropomorphic motifs to highlight how these Kaqchikel words reaffirm the communal power and strength of Indigenous communities working towards food sovereignty. In Ruq'a' raqän qazadón Su mano, su pie de nuestro azadón/nuestros azadones, 2021, Angel constructs a series of azadónes/hoes with arm-shaped wooden shafts capped by a power-fist. In Kaqchikel communities grandmothers and grandfathers name the parts of the hoe, as “Ruq'a raqän abazadón” (The hand, the arm of your hoe), and say to those beginning the planting season, “Tik'asoj ri iwäzadon, kixe'awäx” (wake your azadónes and go sow). These azadónes like the palm-leafed sculptural broom assortment that makes up Ruq'a' raqän qameseb’äl Su mano,su pie de nuestra escoba/nuestras escobas, 2022, allude to the life, power and autonomy of the tools of the Kaqchikel peoples.
Fernando Poyón’s Al paso de las nubes, 2022, is a mixed-media corn stalk shaped wooden sculpture constructed out of yellow wooden cased pencils. The use of school materials in Fernando’s work draw attention to the intimacies and negotiations between colonial histories, contemporary conceptions of identity, and current Mayan practices of ancestral remembrance. More specifically, this work remembers and honors the teachings of “the wise grandmothers and grandfathers who can read the stars, listen to the moon, the sun, interpret the lightning, and sow as the azacua trees pass by announcing the coming of rain.”
“With our acknowledgement to those who raise their voices from the furrows of their
lands and territories, and also to those who raise them from the buildings in the big cities,those who left their lands involuntarily, forced by adverse economic, political and social conditions.”
– Ángel Poyón y Fernando Poyón.
Sik’inik Chukojol Cholaj (Gritos/Voces entre los surcos, entra la cuidad ) will be presented in both gallery rooms #208, #211.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Fernando Poyón (b. 1979, lives and works in Comalapa, Guatemala) is a multidisciplinary artist who draws attention to social, cultural, historical, and political issues concerned with indigeneity through contemporary media and techniques.His has held solo exhibitions at La Erre, Guatemala (2018) and Manos teñidas, Comalapa, Guatemala (2002). His work has been exhibited globally as part of group exhibitions at Escuela, Centro Cultural Aj Sya, Patzicía, Guatemala (2023) Museo Na Bolom San Cristobal de las casas, Chiapas México. (2022) PLEAMAR 5- Arequipa, Perú (2021) Galeria whitebox.art Munich, Germany, Museo de arte de El Salvador, Galerie im Körnerpark Berlin, Germany, National Gallery of Canada (2020); El Lobi, Puerto Rico (2019); Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara/ Pacific Standard Time, ArtFlow Galería, Costa Rica (2017); Museum of Fine Arts in Taipei, Taipei, AMA Museum of Art of the Americas, Washington, DC (2016); NuMU Guatemala, Estado de Excepción, Arte Actual Flacso, Quito, Ecuador (2015); Moss Kunstgalleri Moss, Norway (2006) amongst others.
Angel Poyón (b. 1976, lives and works in Comalapa, Guatemala) is a multidisciplinary artist that explores his ancestral knowledge of the Mayan-Kaqchikel community through his artistic practice. Departing radically from the traditional artistic expression of his indigenous background. Angel art practice critiques the political, social and economic hegemonic power structures conditions of his community in Guatemala. His work has been exhibited internationally including solo presentations at Poporo Project, Guatemala(2016); T2o Gallery, Murcía, Spain (2012); Teorética Foundation, San José, Costa Rica (2011); DesPacio Gallery, Costa Rica (2010). He has also featured in numerous group exhibitions such as The Central Matter, Washington D.C, USA (2017); Arco Madrid, T20 Gallery, Spain (2015); 19 Biennale Arte Paiz, Guatemala (2014); Arco Madrid T20 Gallery, Spain (2013), Selection at the Sayago & Pardon collection Latin American Art, California, USA (2013); ZONA MACO, T20 Gallery, México (2012); Scope Miami, Jacob Karpio Gallery, Miami Florida, USA (2012); ArtBo International Art Fair of Bogotá, Jacob Karpio Gallery, Bogotá Colombia (2012); I Triennale Caribe, Dominican republic(2010); +/- Esperanza , Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo, Costa Rica; Memento morí (e)Star Gallery, Lima, Perú (2010); Performance, Real Collage of Art, London, England (2009); Tai Pei Fine Arts Museum, Tai Pei, Taiwán (2008); Cisneros Foundation Miami Florida, USA, Haydee Santa María & Casa de las Américas, La Habana Cuba; Art Museum of the Americas, Washington D.C; Spain Cultural Center, Guatemala (2007); Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Costa Rica (2006), among others.
