By Christina Nafziger,Xiao daCunha
Copyright chicagoreader
What is a container? What does it contain?
Curated by Christina Nafziger, “Sacred Containers: Capsules, Conduits, and Other Stories,” on view at Chicago Artists Coalition, juxtaposes shapes, forms, and metaphors. The exhibition visualizes divine vessels that hold the very fiber that makes up civilization and identity, documenting memories, histories, traditions, and transformations.
Visitors are immediately greeted by works by Cecilia Beaven, whose multimedia practice forms an original mythology that transcends popular folklore and Mexican identity portrayed in mainstream narratives. One piece, titled Unbroken, is an 80-foot scroll ink drawing. It extends along the top of the gallery wall, around a corner, then drapes down to the floor on the other side. The ink drawings begin with a humanoid monster. Its mouth enlarges and devours its own body, then it digests, and transforms into a sacred deer, an incense burner, and eventually, a hyena’s head through whose mouth a new person is born.
Next in the exhibition are FÁTIMA’s metal sculptures forged using traditional metalsmithing techniques. One would instantly notice some unique mediums on their labels: protection, presence, earth, water, air, fire, aether. These sculptures, some minimal and others intricate, are containers holding the act of making; they are artifacts of FÁTIMA’s spirit and existence.
The final portion of the exhibition feels like an archaeological excavation of history and heritage, highlighting multimedia installations by researcher, publisher, and multidisciplinary artist bex ya yolk, whose research-driven practice is deeply rooted in reproductive histories, rights, and design. Yolk’s pieces are artifacts with intimidating rawness. They call for the complete surrender of existing biases and consciousness, so our human brains can understand the unspoken violence in stone babies lying on metal stands and fabric that resembles the spread legs of someone in labor.
“Sacred Containers: Capsules, Conduits, and Other Stories”Through 10/9: by appointment only, contact@chicagoartistscoalition.org, Chicago Artists Coalition, 1431 W. Hubbard, Suite 201, chicagoartistscoalition.org/events/sacred-containers-capsules-conduits-and-other-stories
