The unexpected violence that tears us apart, the uncontrollable splendor or solemnity of our celebrations, the cult of the death, end up disconcerting the foreigner . . .

— Octavio Paz, The Labyrinth of Solitude

Sunday, November 1 at 5 PM

Participating artists: Emilio Rojas with Mev Luna, Blair Bogin,  Dana Major, and CV Peterson

Me moría is an installation/altar/performance alluding to the Mexican celebration of theDay of the Dead on November 1st. This programming responds to the current installation Chapel by  Chicago-based Mexican artist Rodrigo Lara Zendejas (based on his grandparents’ personal chapel in Mexico). The word Memoria in Spanish which means memory, if separated (me moría), translates to I was dying.

The events of Me moría integrates the Latin American ritual into a contemporary North American context. Re-visiting the signification that the celebration invokes, the artists intend to bring to surface the unspoken fear of death in western-consumption-popular culture, and the relationship between our fragility, memory, dying, remembering and honoring.

In a participatory live performance, the audience is invited to build a collective altar comprising of rituals, performative gestures, photos and offerings in honor to lost ones and in recognition of Death. At the same time Emilio Rojas' mother builds up an altar in her house in Mexico City, in honor of her brother, Alfredo, and a live feed of the transforming altar and performance is simultaneously projected, uniting both rituals and countries. 

Other performances include CV Peterson painting The Perplexity of growth or Stagnation - yellow flowers on the wall within 6018North’s "scene of the crime" room.  Blaire Bogin gives personal astrological readings, Dana Major gives personal crystal meetings, and Marcella Torres creates an altar to honor her Mormon ancestors. Food includes tamales, rice and beans.