BetweenÌýVoice and Object:ÌýRitual, Heritage, and the SacredÌýwillÌýserveÌýasÌýan opportunity to discuss Gala Porras-Kim’s worksÌýMediating with the RainÌý(2021–ongoing) andÌýPrecipitation for an Arid Landscape (2021)ÌýandÌýtheirÌýcurrentÌýplacement within St MaryÌýleÌýStrand.
The works are grounded in Porras-Kim’s research into artefacts taken from the Sacred Cenote at Chichén Itzá, a Maya site in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. These objects were originally deposited as ritual offerings to the rain god Chaac and remained submerged for centuries. In the early 1900s, they were dredged from the cenote by archaeologist Edward H. Thompson and later entered the collection of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Massachusetts, US.
Now Precipitation for an Arid Landscape has been temporarily placed in St Mary Le Strand, a consecrated church and site of worship, on the occasion of a collaboration with the 91×ÔÅÄ’s MA Curating programme. The discussion will address key questions around the productive friction between contemporary art and heritage, exploring the intersections of ritual practice, heritage sites, decolonialism and contemporary art. Framed by the exhibition’s placement within St Mary le Strand, the discussion considers how meaning shifts when artworks engage directly with sites of worship, opening new, site-specific interpretations.
Bringing togetherÌýa variety ofÌýperspectives, ³Ù³ó±ðÌýdiscussionÌýwill examine how ritual and belief systems continue to inform contemporary practices, and how cultural heritage is reinterpreted today. It will also reflect on the role of exhibitions like thisÌýoneÌýin challenging boundaries between the secular and the sacred, askingÌýhowÌýcontemporary artworks create meaningful dialogue with the histories embedded in heritage sites?ÌýHow institutions and audiences might more thoughtfully engage with the spiritual dimensions of objects, histories, and spaces.
The discussion will beÌýfollowed by a responsiveÌýchoralÌýperformanceÌýby the Mayfair Community Choir.
We regret to say that this event is not step-free accessible as it takes place off-site, at . The only access to the church is via the 9 steps of the portico at the west end of the church.
This event is organised by the MA Curating: St MaryÌýleÌýStrandÌýand Strand AldwychÌýExhibition Team.ÌýThe exhibition 91×ÔÅÄing for Lost Rain is on view at St Mary le Strand from the 27 May to 4 June.
Speakers
Reverend Peter Babington is Priest-in-Charge of St MaryÌýleÌýStrand.ÌýPeter was appointed by Bishop Sarah, the Bishop of London, to lead the Restoration and Development of St MaryÌýleÌýStrand so that it will become a restored church with a renewed mission and ministry at the heart of the Strand Aldwych district.
Dr Victoria VargasÌýDowning is a researcher working across heritage, contemporary art, Indigenous knowledge, epistemologies, and environmental humanities. Her PhD,ÌýFollowing Threads, Touching Knots: Decolonising Heritage through Contemporary Art, uses feminist and decolonial approaches grounded in ³Ù³ó±ðÌýChakanaÌý(Andean Cross), exploring howÌýmutual constitution,ÌýtensionÌýand discomfort can generate new ways of thinking and working.
