A volar entre rocas consists of photographic, text, and video works about language, history, place, and memory along with a community workshop. The work in this exhibition is part of an intimate processing of self, relation to place, and migration. Aspects of memory and home are brought up in A volar entre rocas alongside questions about land, place, and power. Born in the place called México and based in so-called Canada, the artist brings her two homes on opposite ends of Turtle Island into relation in this exhibition to unpack similarities and variances between these two places impacted by colonialism. A volar entre rocas is produced in response to and through decolonial theory, a poetics of relation, and a hemispheric framework.

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An installation in the Blinkers main gallery consists of text and stones from the North and South of Turtle Island: Tyndall stone and volcanic stone, invoked physically and through photographs to visually connect two places the artist calls home.

Photographs of exterior walls at the artists’ maternal grandparents home in Morelos, México documents the use of volcanic rock within domestic settings. The Popocatépetl volcano is one of the most active volcanoes on Turtle Island and is located in part within the state of Morelos; likely, volcanic rock found around Morelos is from el Popo. Volcanic rock is and has been used in structures in México ranging from public to private settings. In Morelos, significant examples include Teopanzolco, a Tlahuica pyramid site built around the 12th to 14th centuries; and the Palacio de Cortés, Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortés’s palace, which was built in the 16th century over Tlahuica ruler Cuauhnahuac’s palace. The Spanish had a practice of building structures–such as churches and palaces–on top of existing cultures’ buildings to establish power, sometimes recycling the building material.

Meanwhile, Tyndall stone is a limestone quarried since the late 19th century, specifically from around the communities of Garson and Tyndall in the province of Manitoba within Treaty 1 Territory, located in so-called Canada. Tyndall stone is millions of years old and is the bedrock of this geographical region. For those who live on the prairies, Tyndall stone is easily recognizable and, similarly to volcanic stone throughout México, can be seen in public and private settings throughout so-called Canada. For instance, the Manitoba Legislative Building and the Winnipeg Art Gallery make notable use of this stone not only for its hardiness but also for its aesthetic qualities. Tyndall stone was used in the construction of the Ottawa Parliament Building (1859-1927), and a Tyndall-esque limestone quarried since 1832 was used to build the walls at Lower Fort Garry, where Treaty 1 was signed in 1871 after negotiations between the Anishinabeg and the British Crown.

Text in the gallery reflects an introspective engagement with the natural and social histories surrounding these stones as vessels of time, embodiments of movement, witnesses to history, and links between distant places. A video work consisting of footage from the artist’s returns to México further explores ideas of significance of place and migration through photography, language, and memory.

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About Mariana Muñoz Gomez

Mariana Muñoz Gomez is a Latinx artist, writer, curator, and settler of colour born in Mexico and based on Treaty 1 Territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Their work is concerned with language, place, identity, diaspora, and displacement within post- and settler colonial contexts. Her lens-based practice involves a variety of media including text works, screenprints, and photography. Mariana works collaboratively with a number of collectives including Carnation Zine and window winnipeg, and holds a Master of Arts in Cultural Studies: Curatorial Practices at the University of Winnipeg.

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Support

This work is presented with generous support from Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art, Queer and Trans People of Colour Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities, the Winnipeg Arts Council, and the Manitoba Arts Council.

Blinkers is generously supported by the Manitoba Arts Council.

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