As part of my recent residency in Peru, I worked with anthropologist Dario Astengo to connect me to Don Humberto Soncco Quispe and Guillermo Soncco Apaza, esteemed “Paqos”- spiritual leaders from the Q’eros Andean community. I asked them to conduct a ceremony to bless the clay I was planning to work with. They led a Despacho ceremony, based on the concept of Ayni (=reciprocity)- sharing one’s gifts and energy with nature.
Later, I used the blessed clay in its liquid form to create a large scale wall print of an Inca gate. In the Incan tradition, the gate represents a portal to the spirit world.

As part of this installation, I created a video work called T’uru which means mud in Quechua. This video work accompanies the installation and documents the process of the Despacho ceremony.

 

 

Portal, Blessed clay, 380 x 250 cm

 

 

 

 

 

T’uru (18:10)

 

T’uru, still from video (18:10)