(The artist installing her work.)

Entre tú y la imagen de ti a mí llega / Between You and the Image of You That Reaches Me by Mexican conceptual and installation artist, Mariana Castillo-Deball is currently on view through September 12, 2010. Her installation pieces revolve around two important figures of Aztec mythology: Coatlique, the Mother Goddess of the Earth and Death, who gave birth to the moon and the stars and Coyolxauhqui, her powerful eldest daughter.

Castillo-Deball approaches the mythological figures from the perspective of history and myth, taking into account the archaeological context of the major findings that changed the history of Mexican archaeology. In this exhibition, she draws a parallel between the mythological narrations of these pieces and their destiny as artifacts of national identity. She is interested “specifically in identifying the difference between a government that bases its power in religion and mythology – as in Aztec times- and today’s laic state, that attempts to convert its symbols and significance.” Her work focuses on the archaeological objects as the means of understanding how the past is constructed.

Mariana Castillo-Deball studied fine art at the National University in Mexico and at the Jan Van Eyck Academie in Maastricht, the Netherlands. Recent projects include: Do ut des, Objectif exhibitions, Antwerp; A for Alibi, De Appel, Amsterdan; The Last Piece of John Fare, GB Agency, Paris; Transacciones Filosoficas, Historical Observatory, Cordoba, Argentina and Estas Ruinas Que Ves, Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, Mexico City. Castillo-Deball is a founding member of Uqbar, developing projects that relate contemporary art to other disciplines.