Framed work of the Cartonería technique, representing the rites of life, not death. The belonging and necessity between gods and humans. And the sacrifices needed for life to continue!
Tzompantli de México-Tenochtitlán
Materials: Tissue paper, polystyrene foam and gold leaf.
Dimensions: 8” x 4 ¼” x 10”
Technique: Cartapesta
26hrs
A tzompantli (Nahuatl pronunciation: [t͡somˈpant͡ɬi]) or skull rack is a type of wooden rack or palisade documented in several Mesoamerican civilizations, which was used for the public display of human skulls, typically those of war captives or other sacrificial victims.
It is a scaffold-like altar to Huitzilopochtli, the god of the Sun, constructed of poles on which perforated heads and skulls were arranged. The Mexica people needed their gods in ordered to survive and the hearts from the human sacrifices were offered to the gods to nourish them. This death was necessary for life to continue, and to die was an inspiration.
The priests extracted the hearts and offered the to the gods, while the skull was arranged on the tzompantli. The sun needed strength in its nightly battle against the moon and the stars. And these rights of passage gave the humans permission to belong. They sacrificed lives so that Life could continue!