黑料不打烊

C L E A R I N G presents The Council of the Mother Spirits of the Animals, an exhibition featuring large-scale ceramic sculptures by Indigenous artist and activist Celia Vasquez Yui. The works are part of an ongoing installation currently displayed at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. In an effort to dismantle colonial paradigms that have historically isolated Indigenous artists from the contemporary art scene, Celia鈥檚 art stands as a testimony of the cultural, social, and political universe of the Shipibo-Conibo people. In recent decades, rampant capitalist forces such as agribusiness and logging have caused ecological disasters and pollution in the Amazon, altering the ecosystem and the lives of its inhabitants. As the political representative of the Shipibo-Conibo people, Celia鈥檚 work alludes to a spiritual conception of ecology in which all beings possess a mother spirit, urging swift action to protect the rights of nature.

In The Council of the Mother Spirits of the Animals, a group of zoomorphic ceramic sculptures is displayed in the form of an assembly, symbolizing the unity between the Shipibo and the creatures of the forest. Jaguars, armadillos, snakes, crocodiles, and monkeys, among others, return the viewer鈥檚 gaze with inquisitive energy, as if they are questioning our actions in the world: 鈥樷�榃hy are you destroying our lands and all the lives of those who inhabit them? What makes you think you are more important than us? Don鈥檛 you see? There is no difference between you and me. We are all part of the same earth, breathing the same air, drinking the same water, sleeping under the same sky.鈥欌��

Celia Vasquez Yui is part of a matriarchal lineage of ceramicists linked to the polychrome horizon cultures. She received her artistic training from her mother and now collaborates four-handedly with her daughter Diana Ruiz. She approaches her work like a healer, fasting for several days, abstaining from sex and specific foods, chanting, and smoking tobacco. In alignment with the Shipibo tradition, Celia draws inspiration from the spirits of the rainforest, envisioning them in her dreams and imagination. She then journeys along the Ucayali River, gathering various types of clay that will yield a diverse array of colors and intensities when fired in an open flame. Adorned with ken茅 design 鈥� a complex visual language made of intricate linear patterns 鈥� each piece carries its distinctive identity and embodies the spirit of the animal that inspired its creation. Reflecting hallucinatory visions during ayahuasca ceremonies, harmonious ken茅 designs are believed to hold inherent healing properties. Their fractal-like structures evoke the substrate of the universe, evolving through continuous variations, and forging new connections among their fundamental elements.

Inspired by the female energy of the creator Ronin, Celia breathes life into her creations. As a result, the sculptures are no longer inert objects. They radiate a compelling magnetism and vitality. Never static, nor perfectly symmetrical, the animal bodies of Celia鈥檚 ceramics intertwine with the abstractions of ken茅 designs, prompting the eye to trace the figures as it navigates a labyrinth. Their combination of figurative and abstract elements indicates a potential gateway to alternative cosmic dimensions. Driven by the belief that disharmony leads to suffering, the convergence of sacredness and beauty in Shipibo art reflects an enduring quest for reciprocity and balance with the cosmos.