Anito
2023
Resin, Pop’s Shirts, Nette’s Wedding Dress, Other Ancestral Clothing, String
48x52x26 inches
I used ceremonial materials that these cultures had in common in “Selah,” but there were so many more similarities in rituals to explore such as drums, animals, and various ways to call on ancestors to guide in healing ceremonies. In South Korea, it is common for shamans to handle or wear clothing worn by their ancestors during ceremonies, and in Mongolia, I met shamans who would have large masses of scraps from their ancestor's clothing hanging in their yurts. In “Anito” I echoed this idea by using clothing of my own deceased ancestors, such as my father’s shirts and my grandmother's wedding dress. The color blue is also sacred to most of the cultures I visited representing the eternal blue sky so I chose my father's blue clothing.