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Maratón Creativo Nahualli 2020

Camino al Mictlán: Maratón Creativo Nahualli

By Melva Medina

The Nahualli Creative Marathon drawing contest, held in the midst of a pandemic, at the end of April this year, became the starting point for many artists who were fans of drawing, as well as a new showcase for emerging and professional artists.

Also, with great talents and outstanding work, the winners and honorable mentions were also chosen for giving us a look at the depths of their art and for their dedication in creating fifteen works throughout the Creative Marathon.

“Verustiana” prepares her way to Mictlán

“Verustiana”, one of the winners of the Creative Marathon, in the category of “Emergent”. She shows us her inks technique and the interpretation of the relationship between death and xolo dogs.

Continuing with the tradition of these days, in which we prepare to receive our dead at home, we take a look at the work of this artist in training.

Dogs, those faithful companions of life, and surely, also of death …

If you are sensitive and noble-hearted, you need no effort to adore these four-legged friends and adopt them as part of your family.

The love that dogs offer to people, is the most unconditional there is.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to live with them, see our lives nourished by the privilege of having such good company.

In the world of the dead, there were three main kingdoms, in Tlalocan, the first, the God of water, the rains, and the ruler was Tlaloc.

In the beginning, there was this place for souls who lost their lives because of a death related to that God.

These could be the dead of hydrocephalus, ascites, pulmonary emphysema or even those who died by drowning.

They were buried with dry branches, which as they approached the kingdom of Tlaloc, were transformed into fruit trees.

This place was full of lakes, rivers, and cenotes. With a beautiful climate that allowed them to play naked and enjoy great peace and happiness.

The second kingdom of the dead was the Tonatiuhichan, the place where the God of the Sun, Tonatiuh, reigns.

This was a privileged kingdom, and only those who lost their lives by giving it to others in the form of personal sacrifice could achieve this honor.

Here came the warriors, those executed in sacrifice and women who died giving birth to a new being.

They came to the kingdom of the Sun, where the light-filled them with energy and peace, and they accompanied the Sun for seven years, making their journey through the Cosmos.

After that time, they were brought back to life in the form of hummingbirds, to enjoy the aroma and nectar of the flowers.

The third kingdom was Mictlán, where all the dead of natural causes, ordinary individuals like you and me, would go.

Here, we had to prepare our trip well armed with good deeds, especially with the creatures of nature.

In ancient times, it was important to take care of our Mother Earth and her beings, and one of the most important was in fact the dogs.

Our Aztec ancestors considered Xoloitzcuintle dogs to be sacred animals.

People looked after these hairless specimens with great care, as there was a belief that if you earned their love, they would do everything to help you reach peace on your journey to death, across the Mictlán.

This journey implied crossing that enormous river, while the laments of so many souls tormented by having been cruel in live sound in the background.

And it is that Xolotl guarded the God of the Sun “Tonatiuh” in his journey around the celestial vault.

Finally, they were sent to Mictlán to help the dead cross that river, where an iguana detained those who had mistreated the dogs.

On this road to the Mictlán, hand in hand with “Verustiana”, our Creative Marathon took us beyond this life, and likewise, made us look at other worlds and underworlds.

Full of gratitude to all those who participated in this year’s edition of our Creative Marathon, we want to invite you to closely follow everything that follows – and will continue – happening around this, one of our most important annual events, in the remainder of this year.

Maratón Creativo Nahualli

Una pareja que inspira: Maratón Creativo Nahualli

By A. Osuna

The Nahualli Creative Marathon drawing contest, held in the midst of the pandemic, at the end of April this year, became the starting point for many artists who are fond of drawing, as well as a new showcase for emerging and professional artists. And in this case, an inspiring couple.

Also, with great talents and outstanding work, the winners and honorable mentions were also chosen for giving us a look at the depths of their art and for their dedication in creating fifteen works throughout the Creative Marathon.

Thus, this month, we dedicate the pages of our blog to two of the Honorable Mentions of the Nahualli Creative Marathon, corresponding to the “Emerging” category: Megane Pibolleau and Tóxico Moreno, who besides being artists with promising careers, once our Marathon was over, we discovered that they have a relationship as a couple, where their love for art has become its main axis, and for which chance came to unite them casually among our outstanding artists.

The artists

Megane Pibolleau, Honorable Mention Creative Marathon 2020, Category: Emerging

26-year-old emerging artist, of French nationality and currently based in the city of Mérida, Yucatán.

Her artistic training took place at the Public University of Nimes, France, from where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Applied to Design. Sh has exhibited on multiple occasions in France and Mexico; she belongs to a collage collective, designs jewelry, and is also a graphic designer and illustrator.

The artist has created drawing projects, such as “CARNE MOLIDA”, for which she made more than fifty illustrations, in a series that aims to be the translation of a remnant of memory and graphic interpretation of her dreams. The production of this project is constant, as the artist continues to draw, following the same theme in order to appreciate the evolution of her interpretation.

“For this series and for all the others I chose to work with the black line, since I work intuitively, this allows me greater freedom in applying automatic or instinctive drawing. I think that with a black pen my hand is freer.” Megane Pibolleau

EXHIBITS

2016

Participation in the collective exhibition of the art schools of Nimes, production of a series of 5 fanzines “Go to hell” (collage, illustrations,

photos), Galerie Le Spot, Nimes, France

2017

Participation in the installation “Procesos” with the textile artist Agueda León, the artist Alejandro Gamboa and the dancer Agata Fuku. Installation of bamboo and fabric. Galería Mérida, Mérida Yucatán

2018

Exhibition of the project “Carne Molida”, a series of 50 drawings. Hotel Galería H036 in Lyon, France

2019

Exhibition of “Carne Molida”, series of 15 drawings, PROSE ephemeral Gallery, Lyon, France

Tóxico Moreno, Honorable Mention Creative Marathon 2020, Category: Emerging

Mexican, traveler, photographer, and visual artist. Hugo Tomás Moreno Vilchiz studied for a degree in Plastic Arts at the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico. He has participated in exhibitions since issue no. 14 of the Annual Hall of the Faculty of Arts of the UAE Mex, even as an exhibitor at the University Art Fair, held in Mérida, Yucatán in 2016.

Currently, Tóxico Moreno – his nickname – is the owner, collaborator, and creator of the firm “nowmadas CT toxic collares”, where he makes artisanal production.

EXHIBITS

Participation in the edition number 14 and 15 of the Annual Hall of the Faculty of

arts of the UAE Mex

 

2013

Participation in the commemoration of the CCL anniversary of the NATIONAL ILLUSTRATOR in Sultepec Estado de México

 

2015

Collective exhibition at the numismatic museum in Toluca, State of Mexico

 

2016

Exhibitor at the 2nd University Art Fair held in Mérida, Yucatán

Full of gratitude to all those who participated in this year’s edition of our Creative Marathon, we want to invite you to closely follow everything that follows – and will continue – happening around this, one of our most important annual events, in the remainder of this year.

Conoce más sobre otros participantes de nuestro Maratón Creativo Nahualli 2020.

 

Check out our official Instagram !

Nahualli Creative Marathon 2020

Tchaikovsky on paper: 2020 Nahualli Creative Marathon

By Anaid O

The Nahualli Creative Marathon drawing contest, held in the midst of a pandemic, at the end of April this year, became the starting point for many artists who were fans of drawing, as well as a new showcase for emerging and professional artists.

Also, with great talents and outstanding work, the winners and honorable mentions were also chosen for giving us a look at the depths of their art and for their dedication in creating fifteen works throughout the Creative Marathon.

Antony Milla Aguilera (ComaIcaIco, Tabasco, 2000), is a visual artist and pianist.

But also, he is our winner of the Nahualli Creative Marathon 2020 in the “Emerging” category.

In the first place, and as part of his training from an early age, Milla studied drawing under the direction of the teacher Adrián Milla Meneses.

With a refined and dramatic style in his strokes, Antony has taken multiple workshops on engraving, drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, and action art, with outstanding teachers from the country.

Currently, he has multiple group and individual exhibitions in different galleries, museums, private companies, and different important venues in the country.

Antony is a student of Visual Arts at the Higher School of Arts in Yucatán and is also a member of the sculpture workshop under the tutelage of Austrian teacher Gerda Gruber.

Most of his works can be found in Tabasco and Veracruz.

“After a month or two of confinement, the truth is that the Creative Marathon helped me a lot to clear a lot, doing those drawing exercises. I really like working with series and it made me very interesting because it was a series of 15 drawings ”.

Also, at the beginning of his entry to art school, it occurred to Antony that he did not want to remain solely in painting, and decided to explore other areas such as photography.

While he was finding his way in art, he found a very special place in sculpture.

At the same time, he has managed to develop as an artist in more than one of its aspects.

To contemplate these fifteen works by Antony Milla is to be transported to Imperial Russia, and almost to be moved by the compositions of Tchaikovsky resounding in one’s memory.

Nahualli Creative Marathon

By Anaid O.

The Nahualli Creative Marathon drawing contest, held in the midst of a pandemic, at the end of April this year, became the starting point for many artists who were fans of drawing, as well as a new showcase for emerging and professional artists.

Also, with great talents and outstanding work, the winners and honorable mentions were also chosen for giving us a look at the depths of their art and for their dedication in creating fifteen works throughout the Creative Marathon.

The participant in our 2020 Nahualli Creative Marathon contest, Alejandro Aguilar Bustos (Mexico City, 1962), winner of the “Aficionado” category, was able to transport us with his fifteen drawings and through an honest line, directly to vibrant Mexico City, with all its splendor and agitation; to that energetic and chaotic normality of public transport, to the craving for some tacos at night, to a stroll through the squares and even the charming flea markets at the weekend. That beautiful triviality that used to exist and that we look at with nostalgia today.

It is precisely about that melancholy, and the feeling of having left behind an era that today, despite everything, allows us to approach, among other things, to art, writes the artist and director of Nahualli Gallery, Melva Medina.

The whisper of the streets and alleys in the neighborhoods is silent. I miss the band in the market, the people eating as a family at the tables with colorful tablecloths, and those friendly conversations with the neighbors who coincide in queuing at the poultry shop or buying the daily fruit.

The cafes and bars are sad, they cry every night because they miss the noise. The spontaneous singer who, inspired by the trio, dares to sing a verse for his beloved to the tune of a few mojitos and carajillos, has now taken a long break.

In the squares, there is a void of artisans selling their products and the gap allows us to feel a dense atmosphere full of fear of exploring the environment. The benches miss the sweat of all the loves prostrated in the innumerable kisses they have witnessed.

There is no one to feed the pigeons or give the leftovers to the stray dog. I even miss the beggar selling bracelets, my countrymen from Chiapas carrying their blouses. Young urban artists have left their proclamations wrapped in the soul, pressed by the desire to go out and sound loud; as well as the dancers, the cyclists, the walkers, the marquesitas and the elotes, the workers, the shopkeepers …

Only some come out covering their mouths suffocated by the hot air of the environment combined by their breath fearing the presence of the invisible enemy in their bodies.

The injunction to confinement is already too long to be taken seriously. The hug, the “little faje”, the passionate kiss are missed; just shaking hands and feeling the energy of a friend. The friction of bodies without fear, the closeness in the bus, getting close to someone on the truck, “hacer bola” in meetings or family gatherings, or rallies …

I miss the shouting, the singing, the choir, the school group, the ball game, recess time to see the kids sharing their lunch …

Life is still ours and it is enlivened with the memory and longing for what we will do again, once this is over. Because it will end one day, and then we will be even more alive and aware, we will have grown and we will be more than ready to continue and intensely appreciate what had been imperceptible. Today is the time to contemplate, visual enjoyment, imagining and growing within ourselves. It is time to enjoy art and reading.

Alejandro Aguilar reminds us of who we are, our daily intensity and the joy of living. It is time to contemplate his work and yearn with desire all that we are capable of giving. He reminds us that this will happen to give rise to our daily experience again, now more conscious than before. And, it is in the near future that we will appreciate ourselves intensely – internally and externally – to give ourselves whole again enjoying life in a different way. Melva Medina, 2020

More about the artist

As an amateur, Alejandro Aguilar, a graduate of the Graphic Communication career at the National School of Plastic Arts of the UNAM, has had an intermittent personal plastic production that has flowed in four aspects: the first and most numerous is that of drawings and paintings of anatomical reinterpretations of arthropod species and diverse fauna; the second, which has been brief, is that of drawings of “humorous” recreations of stories and anecdotes from the world and the urban underworld; the third, incipient, is of the intervention of waste objects with micro sculpture, drawing and/or painting; and the fourth, incipient as well, the production of an object book that in this area is illustrated by a recently concluded piece with texts from the book “Las Enseñanzas de Don Juan” by Carlos Castañeda.

“It was another aspect that I have always liked, the urban question, the question of characters in the street, of characters that you meet on the street every day: the worker, the craftsman, the people who go out to work at work, the people who go on public transport, the people you see in the subway or in the minibus.

I like watching all the people. From there, I generate certain stories and it was the part that I liked to participate, this time, in the Nahualli Creative Marathon”.

For this reason, and choosing pencil, ink, watercolor and acrylic on paper or cardboard as his preferred means when creating his works, Alejandro Aguilar was awarded as one of the winners of our Creative Marathon 2020 for his talent, and because In the reality we live in today, the frankness of his art allowed us to look out the window to look at that outside world that today seems so far away.