Transparencies in Time: Cuahpohualli

Acrylic, steel and poetry

José’s work is rooted in Mesoamerican lore and a pre-Columbian notion of time that’s extant in the poetics and as such is the foundation and bedrock of their work. While in ceremony with Chololo medicine men in the Tule River Reservation, they dreamt this written prophecy.

José’s artwork and/or practice is visceral and surrealist at the same time. It is a progression of a short-story series where they interpolate the Sun Stone calendar, the primary source of the Cauhpohualli Computo del Tiempo Azteca y su correlacion actual Anahuacayotl de Tlaxcalancingo, Puebla. It brings to life a micro-fiction project titled “San Miguel de Tarimoro ca. 1546,” that delves into the immaterial aspects of time. The work is a catalog of the 365 days in the Tonalpohualli or count of days in hologram.

This artwork incorporates written works from the manuscript “Desert Sands.” An audio excerpt of the manuscript, read by José D. Trejo-Maya with music by Matthew Olmos of the Speaknahuatl Collective, can be viewed in the above video.

The Speaknahuatl Collective is a community-oriented Nahuatl language and culture collective dedicated to educating individuals of all age groups. Speaknahuatl continually integrates effective language teaching methods with dedicated teachers, students and a commitment to online and in-person community via Indigenous language revitalization, reclamation, preservation, activism, arts and cultures across Abya Yala (North, Central and South Americas). With a strong commitment to Indigenous language advocacy and activism, their work is structured around the four seasons: winter, spring, summer and fall. The Speaknahuatl Collective’s core objective revolves around empowering community via language, culture and the arts. Learn more about the Speaknahuatl Collective.

This is a Cultural Currents installation. Cultural Currents is a project of Lane Arts Council and City of Eugene Cultural Services and is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.