Ana Hernández

Campeche presents LADI BEÑE, the first solo exhibition at the gallery by Mexican artist Ana Hernández (Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, 1991).

The exhibition begins with the "Son del Pescado", a pre-Hispanic ritual dance that narrates the story of a fisherman trying to catch a sawfish, which is regarded by the Binniza´ (Zapotecs) of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Oaxaca, Mexico) as "the creator of the first day." Historically performed exclusively by men, this dance symbolizes one of the Binniza´ creation myths, linked through oral tradition to the gods, the creation of the world, and the first men and women.

The central work in the exhibition is a sawfish sculpture covered in gold. The piece is accompanied by canvases on which the artist draws with a mixture of water and soil, as well as a video performance, filmed by Binniza´ photographer Luvia Lazo. In the video, Ana Hernández reenacts the traditional "Son del Pescado" dance in a mud puddle.

I’ve been thinking about mud for a long time. I’m interested in this mixture of two elements that has often been linked to decay. I relate it to the way many people view indigenous cultures: nobody wants to get stained by mud. But mud is the result of the union between water and earth, and it has been used throughout history for countless purposes—such as building houses, ovens, plates, cleaning impurities from the body, or even as food for pregnant women. In childhood plays, children often engage with mud. For me, this also connects with a family memory: the last time my mother crossed the border, she ended up covered in mud in a mall parking lot in Texas. –Ana Hernández