Matrix is best described as ‘something in which something else develops or forms.’ Also described as ‘something shaped like a pattern of lines and spaces.’ In Spanis, it translates to “Matriz: womb.” In several exhibitions since 2008, visitors to whatever exhibition I’m having, have been invited to remove a paper huipil, take a marker, and write a tribute, letter, or poem to an important woman in their lives, whether human, divine, mythological, etc. The collection now includes approximately 700 letters, in all languages, to women, to mothers, teachers, sisters, goddesses, mother earth, mother nature, etc. All in praise and support of the feminine. It is interactive only when I’m available in the gallery to keep refilling with blank huipils and markers. It’s normally presented on a grid like those used in construction, or strung on a fine clothesline across a gallery. Each huipil is 2-sided, so it’s often installed in a window or in the center of a room, where visitors can pass between the ropes that hold it.
(Meet Mago Contributor) Lena Bartula.
I love this!