Marela Zacarias at Mad Art brings us the Temple of the Feathered Serpent in Xochicalco

Marela Zacarías working on the installation Photo by Agueda Pacheco Flores/Crosscut

In case  you are yearning for a trip to get away from our crazy election or now to celebrate it, go to Mad Art (325 Westlake Avenue N, open Thurs, Fri, Sat noon to 5 and by appointment necessary)

Marela Zacarías  brings us the Temple of the Feathered Serpent in Xochicalco, a Mesoamerican site near where the artist grew up in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Made out of screening, it is an accurate but scaled down version of the pyramid.

12 feet high and 22 feet by 25 feet at it widest

We see the building blocks of Mexican pyramids in the unusual shapes to the right of the stairs. Inside Out is the title of the exhibition, suggesting both the idea that she usually builds her sculpture from wire mesh and, to me, the feeling of the transparency of the pyramid as well as our current world which is being turned inside out.

Marela Zacarías was in Seattle working on a public art work for the new airport terminal. She then spent 8 weeks in a residency at Mad Art,  ” a catalyst for new and unexpected artworks in Seattle”

Marela grew up going to archeological sites with her mother, an anthropologist, so the Mesoamerican sites are deeply embedded in her cultural identity.

According to Cross Cut author Agueda Pacheco Flores,  Xochicalco is

“one of the only places where Aztec and Mayan shamans and leaders came together, perhaps to study the stars and determine the calendar. Aesthetic elements found on the site reflect art from both cultures, suggesting the two empires built the temple together before their eventual collapse.”

The artist sees a parallel between the collapsing of the Maya and Aztec empires and our current world.

Before we look at what the artist has put at the center of the interior, let us make a tour of the murals on the walls around it. These are guaranteed to lift your spirits as you immerse yourselves in their stunning subtle purples, reds, pinks, aquas, reds, oranges and yellows.

This burst of energy suggests a dramatic event, perhaps a volcano exploding. Look at the wedge shapes, which according to my friend Carolyn Tate, who knows all about Mesoamerican art, suggest the splintering of society. Underneath we recognize the familiar fret like decorations we see on Mexican pyramids.

The next section suggests portals and entrances, especially the diamond shaped brilliant red shape in the corner. Then there are more portals. Above this is a light shaft going directly to the sky, which is part of the Mad Art gallery design, but Carolyn suggested we could be looking up from the underworld.

Next is the famous feathered serpent with its long tongue

Here is the serpent on the original pyramid. It is easy to see how much Marela has integrated her deep understanding of the serpent with her own aesthetics of color and abstraction.

Around the corner is a glowing tree with roots reaching into the ground and labyrinthine spaces enclosed by its grasp.

Finally we have a circular form collecting energies, perhaps a shield, a disc, a planet, a metaphor of unity.

But then we turn back to explore the pyramid again and we see a strange shape hanging there, it is a plaster serpent wrapped around a tire. It represents Cihuacoatl, dedicated to the mythological Aztec goddess known for providing women with strength during childbirth.

The artist said about the central image “I wanted to dedicate my temple to the resilience inherent in being a woman, the creative power, but also how we’re warriors with this energy that helps us. Not only childbirth, but I think of the women who are separated from their children at the border, of women who are going through a war, women who are single moms and finding food for their kids. I mean there’s just so much resilience that is called from us.”