In 2012, the world awaited the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar. It didn’t happen. But what if the Maya were right and just didn’t specify what it would look like? For instance, a head of an Olmec ancestor falling from the sky right onto a sports car. To immortalize this event, I constructed an altar that the Maya themselves might have built.
Every detail of the altar is drawn from the Maya: the snake columns of Kukulkan, the masks of the rain god Chaac, and the intricate crest, like those found at the Palenque temples. The date of the event is inscribed on the plinth using dots and strokes. The altar is sculpted like a plastiline diorama: the future reconstructs the past in a childlike manner.
Through the doorway, a photorealistic courtyard in Mexico City is visible: concrete, graffiti, volcanic gravel. Two worlds, two different lights: the altar stands in a warm studio against black, while the courtyard is illuminated on a cloudy day. The Olmec head: this is the region’s oldest culture, predating the Maya.
