From a very young age I’ve been afraid of flying, plagued by the notion of being trapped in a vessel in the sky. On a recent flight to Los Angeles the pilot announced he was turning the plane back, there was a bomb threat. My heart stopped. Luckily the threat was a hoax.
This experience gave me a greater understanding of life and death and how they run as parallel forces which was timely, as we were enroute to Mexico, a country that so beautifully and openly celebrates life and death.
I returned to Mexico a few months later to revisit the bright colours, textures, flower offerings, masks, skulls, local traditions and antiquities from ancient times which still play a significant role in their society. Immersed in a foreign land and challenged by new cultural influences, I delved into a world of mythological figures and narratives which led me to question my own morality and desire to attain enlightenment.
Mexico Dreams references ancient Mayan and Aztec artefacts sighted in the anthropology museums of Oaxaca, Puebla and Mexico city, spiritual healers I visited on the outskirts of Oaxaca and the indigenous people of San Cristobal’s elaborate textiles and folk stories.
Craig Waddell – August 2016
Image: SURROUNDED BY YOUR BEAUTY (2016)
