''An ofrenda (Spanish: "offering") is a collection of objects placed on a ritual altar during the annual and traditionally Mexican Dia de los Muertos celebration. An ofrenda, which may be quite large and elaborate, is usually created for an individual person who has died and is intended to welcome him/her to the altar setting. A common format for an ofrenda contains three levels or tiers. The topmost tier identifies the dead person who is being invited to the altar, frequently with photos of the deceased, along with, images of various saints, statuettes of the Virgin Mary, crucifixes, etc. which are positioned in a retablowhich forms the back of the altar; on the second tier are things placed to encourage the dead to feel at home and welcome: the deceased person's favorite food items might go here, including such things as mole, candy, pan dulce, and especially a sweetbread called pan de muerto. For deceased adults, the ofrenda might include a bottle or poured shot glasses of tequilaor mezcal, while if the deceased is a child here might be placed a favorite toy. The bottom-most tier almost always contains lit candles, and might also have a washbasin, mirror, soap, and a towel so that the supposed spirit of the deceased can see and refresh themselves upon arrival at the altar. Throughout the altar are placed calaveras (decorated candied skulls made from compressed sugar) and bright orange and yellow marigolds (cempazuchitl), an Aztec flower of the dead. Ofrendas are constructed in the home as well as in village cemeteries and churches".
Making art can be framed as the activity of making a kind of offering - to a culture, to ones own time or to ones own presence in the world. There is a strong element of ritual, in the making of work, and in the soaking of matter in the very essence of contemplation. It has been said that galleries are churches for a culture that has lost faith but still searches for the spirit.
October 15 - November 12, 2016
