MIRRORS

Mirros, 2020
Black Obsidian
20 x 20 x 28 cm


Due to its physical qualities, obsidian was perhaps the most important raw material for ancient Mesoamericans. To this day, obsidian mirrors represent an important income in Teotihuacán and La Sierra de las Navas, being one of the best-selling products. The simplicity of their round shape, yet the brightness of the material makes it one of the most representative insignia of pre-Hispanic spirituality, materiality and worldview. Poetically, obsidian mirrors have a suitable metaphor for images; they reflect the observer and the object at the same time.


Mirrors is an exercise that examines the methodology in which these objects are produced:  medium-sized stones are extracted and then subjected to a punching process that results in cylindrical pieces, which are lapped later to obtain around fifteen mirrors. For this work, Ana works with the remains and the excess of the extraction process, so as to reflect on the automatization of the procedure.  In the form of a sculptural installation, Mirrors is a series of hollow obsidian cylinders disposed in the space modularly that allow different combinations that create an architectural space.  The methodology of the installation seeks to alter a serial production process to examine the possibility and scope of reconfiguration of the form, but not the matter.