ALFONSO PILOTO NIEVES RUIZ

This work consists of four sculpted clay heads on a circular base, one for each of the four directions and facing in towards the center. The symbol of tlahtolli-Nahuatl language for “word, speech, language” emerges from the mouth of each head to meet in the center. Each tlahtolli symbol is colored according to the four directions from my region. In the center of the circle where the tlahtolli meet, a shaker in the form of an anatomical heart emerges. On the back of each head, a mirror is placed so people can recognize themselves.

The piece is oriented according to the four directions in the gallery space, so people can acknowledge where they are and participate in the ritual of the four directions. The mirrors on the back of each head help the participants to ground themselves in each quadrant. The shaker in the center is meant to be touched, held and played, to remember that we are energy and sound that was born with the Ometeotl (Ome: two or dual, Teotl: energy or cosmic energy)—better-known as the Big Bang.