Heard on The StreetNovember 19, 2023
Tate accepts new commercial agreement as guardian of a work by Edgar Calel
The Tate officially has custody of Ru k'ox k'ob'el jun ojer etemab'el (The Echo of an Ancient Form of Knowledge, 2021) by Maya-Kaqchikel artist Edgar Calel (1987, Guatemala).
Instead of acquiring the work for the museum's collection, the artist and Proyectos Ultravioleta established a new model that allows the museum to safeguard this piece. This is an unprecedented event that broadens the traditional functioning of museum collections. The work will be in the museum for the next 13 years, and the beginning of its custody took place with a ritual ceremony performed by the artist during the Liverpool Biennial 2023.
It consists of a series of fruits and vegetables that are placed on large rocks as offerings to the artist's ancestors. Each rock represents an altar related to the story of Wuqub' Kaqix, a deity that takes the form part human and part bird, described in the sacred Mayan book. Following this, a member of the artist's community performs a ritual over the fruits to bless them so that they may transcend to the spiritual plane. Calel aims to make the audience consider the complexity of indigenous communities whose culture, language and lands are under threat.
The commitment between the Tate and the artist (along with his community) is based on Mayan thought and traditions. First, it recognizes the history and importance of ancestral knowledge, as well as a work that transcends the tangible. On the other hand, it pays homage to the Maya-Kaqchikel. The 13-year custodial period is significant, since that number represents a sacred cycle in the Mayan calendar. At the end of the 13 years a new agreement will be reached, to renew the custody with the Tate, to transfer it to another institution or to return to the community.
Instead of acquiring the work for the museum's collection, the artist and Proyectos Ultravioleta established a new model that allows the museum to safeguard this piece. This is an unprecedented event that broadens the traditional functioning of museum collections. The work will be in the museum for the next 13 years, and the beginning of its custody took place with a ritual ceremony performed by the artist during the Liverpool Biennial 2023.
It consists of a series of fruits and vegetables that are placed on large rocks as offerings to the artist's ancestors. Each rock represents an altar related to the story of Wuqub' Kaqix, a deity that takes the form part human and part bird, described in the sacred Mayan book. Following this, a member of the artist's community performs a ritual over the fruits to bless them so that they may transcend to the spiritual plane. Calel aims to make the audience consider the complexity of indigenous communities whose culture, language and lands are under threat.
The commitment between the Tate and the artist (along with his community) is based on Mayan thought and traditions. First, it recognizes the history and importance of ancestral knowledge, as well as a work that transcends the tangible. On the other hand, it pays homage to the Maya-Kaqchikel. The 13-year custodial period is significant, since that number represents a sacred cycle in the Mayan calendar. At the end of the 13 years a new agreement will be reached, to renew the custody with the Tate, to transfer it to another institution or to return to the community.
