Movement of the Sun

Tracing Ancestral Resilience: The fifth and last world of Tonatiuh

1 - 28 September 2023, Workspace 3496 + gallery, Red Cliffs Victoria 3496

In an exploration of lineage and survival, I embark on a journey to unravel the lives of my forebearers who once navigated existence during times of environmental tribulation, echoing our contemporary experience of climate change. Through both physical and psychological upheaval, they confronted, adapted to, and triumphed over challenges, much akin to our own current predicament.

The legacy of my ancestors lies in their ingenious cultivation of a culture and rituals that paved their way through environmental turmoil. In my artistic endeavour, I channel these spiritual practices while seamlessly weaving in the ongoing environmental distress affecting Australia and the global community at large.

My creative intention reverberates with the urgency of our fragility, underscoring the imperative to pay homage to these enduring forces. Illustrated through a tapestry of images and symbols, my work is an anthology of Aztec deities, bearers of the energies that once guided my lineage. In this homage, I offer humility, recognising these omnipotent forces, as we unite in hope to weather the storms ahead.

Synthesising elements of Australian and Aztec cultures, my works are an interplay of images and symbols, each tethered to our present trials – conflagrations, deluges, pandemics, the cycle of life and death, sustenance from the earth, and the sanctity of Nature. The narrative unfurls across the paper, vividly painting the chronicle of these events and the contrasting energies that form the core of existence – as the Aztecs termed it, 'Omitote,' the harmonious relationship of life and the creative cosmic force that propels it.

In this exhibition, I invite you to traverse the corridors of time, where past and present intersect, where the resilience of ancestral wisdom converges with the urgency of today's environmental challenges. May this fusion of cultures serve as a testament to the tenacity of the human spirit and inspire collective action as we stand on the threshold of an uncertain future.