Two Independent Mexican women

See article in its original context here by Sophia Sourris for Spanish Australia.

Yunuen Pérez and Sissy M. Reyes have joined creative forces to produce their first exhibition together, titled ‘Mex-tli, Mexican Goddesses’, a series of superbly crafted photographs drawing on historical Indigenous practices and aesthetics celebrating resilient women rarely acknowledged in both local and global societies.
Multi-talented Yunuen Pérez, a costume and production designer living in Melbourne and Sydney based cinematographer, Sissy M. Reyes, not only conceptualise, produce and fund their visual art exhibition, but they also feature as the central characters in their photographs. The portrayals are so convincing that they could be mistaken as a series of film stills presenting scenes from a detailed narrative. Due to their artistic backgrounds, it is no surprise that their images have a cinematic and theatrical quality. As passionate and compelling as the women depicted in the photographs, Reyes and Pérez both work on a variety of creative projects in their chosen fields. Although they have been working separately in Australia for six years, this is the first time they have had the opportunity to collaborate together to showcase their skills and unique aesthetic heralded from their Mexican upbringing.

Originally meeting at university in Puebla, Mexico in 2002, it was only when Pérez and Reyes both realised they were going to Australia did they begin to recognise the connection between their creative practices, influences and common visual language. Concerned with the way Mexican culture was being portrayed in Australia and driven by their own struggles trying to live in this country, they began to develop the idea of imagery embracing Indigenous dress cleverly constructing portraits of Mexican women in the Australian landscape. Combined with their fascination for the Aztec period of Mexican history, the pair immersed themselves in a year’s worth of research before producing photographs inspired by Toltec and Mexica ceremonies.

The name of the exhibition, ‘Mex-tli, Mexican Goddesses’, emerged from the Aztec mythology of ‘Metzli’, the goddess of the moon, also referred to as the Old Mother in the Nahuatl Indigenous language. With a keen interest in storytelling referencing Indigenous Mexican traditions, costumes, arts and crafts the pair experimented with the juxtaposition of an Australian woman’s presence in a foreign setting. The photographs document the ritual of a shaman, performed by Reyes, who cleans the woman’s spirit to remove negativity, a practice regularly acted out by Mexicans from low socio-economic communities. Pérez highlights that a sense of displacement is apparent in all the works culminating in a sequence of photographs developed as part of the Spiritous funding program (the only Australian arts grant that did not request residency as a prerequisite to apply) at the Abbotsford Convent.

Through studies of female discourses whilst at university, Reyes recognised that empowering female icons were not being acknowledged widely in Mexico. With her grandmother as a strong female role model participating in the revolution and Pérez’s own experience growing up in the Indigenous community of Cholula, the two could be described as strong-willed activists fighting with their artistic tools for minorities to be represented and respected. Curated by José Antonio González Zarandona, the exhibition draws on contemporary society as well as ancient civilisations to show how Mexican women’s contributions have been integral to everyday life, particularly in struggles during migration which Pérez and Reyes have both personally experienced.

Facing frustrations of not being able to find support as foreign artists without a Permanent Residency status, Pérez and Reyes took matters into their own hands raising over $4,000 via Pozible, an online crowdfunding platform that enables creative projects to be realised. Pérez noted that most of the financial contributions have been donated by their networks in Mexico, proving that people overseas believe in the quality and significance of the work they are producing. With future hopes to take the exhibition to Berlin and throughout Mexico, Melbourne is extremely fortunate to be witnessing the exhibition’s world premiere at fortyfivedownstairs opening in May.

Vividly explosive in terms of cultural expression and colour palette, ‘Mex-tli, Mexican Goddesses’ provides a dynamic introduction to the country’s contemporary photography deeply rooted in the traditions of Mexico’s Indigenous heritage.

The photographic exhibition, ‘Mex-tli, Mexican Goddesses’ by Yunuen Pérez and Sissy M. Reyes runs 7 – 18 May at fortyfivedownstairs located at 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. Visit www.fortyfivedownstairs.com/events for gallery opening hours from Tuesday – Saturday. FREE admission.
By Sophia Sourris

*Photo Credits:
The Queen of Maize. Sissy M. Reyes (Photographer), Yunuen Perez (Production Designer)
A Faraway Shore. Sissy M. Reyes (Photographer), Yunuen Perez (Production Designer)