Entering the sacred

We all have probably held a sacred object. An object to which we have ascribed a meaning or the power to heal us. An object that can allow us to dive into a different dimension, through prayer or meditation. I am thinking of a rosary, its beads walking us through lines to be repeated over and over again. I cannot remember when this happened, but once I was at a convent and we had to walk along a corridor, back and forth, while praying, a rosary in our hands, guide and anchor. I am thinking of the stones we were given by the shaman during a family constellations retreat I went to with my sister some years ago. In shamanism any object can be charged to help us, it is up to us. I am thinking of el pilar in the Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in my home tome, Zaragoza. A marble pillar of which only a small section is accessible to us, humans beings of flesh and bones, a little bit lower than average height, perhaps, so that most of us have to kneel down and kiss it. Its surface now rather hard to access as the touch of millions of lips have eroded this stone on which the Virgin once appeared to St. James the Greater.

Objects galore across religions and cultures. Objects crafted. Objects carrying both their sacred meaning and the mastery of the maker, one we rarely know.

It is from those objects that I draw inspiration when I make objects to have casted in bronze. The few I know, the thousands I will never. Most of them I call them goddesses, for to me they are guides that teach me about my own making, about the intuitive gestures and the textures I am to express. It all started with porcelain after a visit to multi-disciplinary Marcia Michael’s home studio. This was years ago. She contacted me as she, a renown photographer whose work I love and had seen at Autograph, had started working with clay. The pieces she showed where exactly what I needed to see - proper downloads from somewhere else, her ancestors, her angels. We talked about the works, she cooked for me and as soon as I left I rushed back to the studio to make. Three minutes per object, porcelain as the chosen clay, a chance to create something without thinking. Marvelled at what I had created, I started a ritual. Each time I got to the studio, I made these studies in porcelain, to get into the mood, to learn about my own making and feel guided. A ritual that changed my practice.

And from those, the first waxes were born, and from those, the first bronzes. I have not shown works in bronze that much, so I am really excited to have a selection I am well proud of at Ile Ọkàn (House of the Soul), my solo show opening this week at OmVed Gardens (March 20-29).

Photos of the bronzes by Christian Cassiel

As you can imagine, I have tons of those studies in porcelain now and as someone who hates accumulating things, it is not ideal. Fortunately, this accumulation of special little objects charged with my energy have allowed me to start a different ritual. Whenever someone I love moves houses, has something special going on in their lives, or deserves a ‘thank you’ from me, I gift them one as a little totem. A protector. For that’s all we seek for, after all, to be protected, don’t we? To know that we are not alone, that our fates are in the hands of a higher something, power, divinity, that makes our existence less arduous, more meaningful. A presence that is often simply manifested in those around us. I love that idea from shamanism that anything can be a ‘charged guide’. And if we think about it, we all are sacred, so perhaps all we need is to be more aware of our own energy and power to heal, and share it. That is, our own ability to love and through that love, protect us all.

Photos by Karina Smagulova (2022)

Thanks for reading! xx