Popol Vuh - Xibalbá
This work reconstructs a pivotal episode of the foundational Maya cosmogony: the descent of the Hero Twins into the underworld of Xibalbá. By adopting the aesthetic lexicon of sequential art, it updates a millennial narrative, demonstrating that contemporary visual paradigms can function as robust vessels for ancestral mythologies without diluting their core essence. The masks, rooted in original regional Maya creations, operate as perceptual interfaces where identity is continuously fragmented and multiplied.
Xibalbá is not depicted as a realm of punitive torment, but rather as a crucible of trial and epistemic initiation. The figures cluster densely at the compositional core—deities, demons, and guardians—each bearing a distinctive mask, coded chromatic signatures, and symbolic attributes. The jaguar, the owl, suspended bats, and architectural temples construct a scenography that does not merely illustrate the myth; it actively inhabits it. The two central figures, enveloped in turquoise and violet, embody the twins Hunahpú and Ixbalanqué, whose cunning subverts the established cosmic order.
The graphic language of sequential art, with its inherent sequentiality and visual synthesis, functions as a conceptual bridge between Maya cosmogony and contemporary perception. Every implicit panel within the composition encapsulates a distinct node of the narrative: the summons to Xibalbá, the trials, the metamorphosis, the rebirth. The work eschews linear narration; instead, it compresses mythical time into a singular, unified plane where past, present, and future coexist in a state of quantum superposition.
The masks do not conceal faces; they unveil archetypes. Each functions as a portal into a distinct mode of consciousness, a specific methodology for inhabiting the world that radically transcends individual subjectivity.
Xibalbá is not a hell; it is a reflective surface. The heroes do not descend to conquer, but to comprehend that life and death are merely interchangeable masks. The work closes the narrative cycle without foreclosing its meaning. The myth remains an open system, awaiting the viewer to recognize their own descent, their own mask, and their own reflection at the liminal threshold of the underworld.
Size:
42.51' x 56.29"
Technique:
Oil on canvas.
This work resides within my private collection.
Popol Vuh - Xibalbá
This work reconstructs a pivotal episode of the foundational Maya cosmogony: the descent of the Hero Twins into the underworld of Xibalbá. By adopting the aesthetic lexicon of sequential art, it updates a millennial narrative, demonstrating that contemporary visual paradigms can function as robust vessels for ancestral mythologies without diluting their core essence. The masks, rooted in original regional Maya creations, operate as perceptual interfaces where identity is continuously fragmented and multiplied.
Xibalbá is not depicted as a realm of punitive torment, but rather as a crucible of trial and epistemic initiation. The figures cluster densely at the compositional core—deities, demons, and guardians—each bearing a distinctive mask, coded chromatic signatures, and symbolic attributes. The jaguar, the owl, suspended bats, and architectural temples construct a scenography that does not merely illustrate the myth; it actively inhabits it. The two central figures, enveloped in turquoise and violet, embody the twins Hunahpú and Ixbalanqué, whose cunning subverts the established cosmic order.
The graphic language of sequential art, with its inherent sequentiality and visual synthesis, functions as a conceptual bridge between Maya cosmogony and contemporary perception. Every implicit panel within the composition encapsulates a distinct node of the narrative: the summons to Xibalbá, the trials, the metamorphosis, the rebirth. The work eschews linear narration; instead, it compresses mythical time into a singular, unified plane where past, present, and future coexist in a state of quantum superposition.
The masks do not conceal faces; they unveil archetypes. Each functions as a portal into a distinct mode of consciousness, a specific methodology for inhabiting the world that radically transcends individual subjectivity.
Xibalbá is not a hell; it is a reflective surface. The heroes do not descend to conquer, but to comprehend that life and death are merely interchangeable masks. The work closes the narrative cycle without foreclosing its meaning. The myth remains an open system, awaiting the viewer to recognize their own descent, their own mask, and their own reflection at the liminal threshold of the underworld.
Size:
42.51' x 56.29"
Technique:
Oil on canvas.
This work resides within my private collection.