Delicacies with the dead
Dulzuras con los muertos
Exhibition
3 of 6
Client: The Mexican Embassy
in Finland and Estonia
and the Museum
of Industrial Arts of Helsinki
Place: Helsinki, Finland
Year: 1993
Highlights:
In november 1993 the Embassy of Mexico
in Finland appointed me to design an Exhibition of the traditional Mexican celebration of "D’a de Muertos", presented at the Museum of Art and Design in Helsinki (MADH) during the first weekend of november 1993.
After presenting some rough sketches with my concept to the Mexican diplomats I proceeded to mount the exhibition at the museum.
My concept consisted of 4 different elements:
1. As an introductory display,
a resemblance of a graveyard stone
(see photo) with a quotation from "The labyrinth of Solitude" from Octavio Paz.
2. A path of lit candles to indicate the access to the exhibition and symbolise the path and entrance to the "World of the Death".
3. Three altars with offerings, as it is done in Mexico: sugar skulls, candles, liqueurs, cigarettes, China paper, Mexican food, fruits and flowers (zempaxochitl or "flor de muerto"). The main altar (see photo) was dedicated to all the Dead ones of the world. The other two altars were dedicated to the two ghosts that are thought to live in the basement of the museum.
4. A central display showing Mexican ceramic skeletons. On the floor I mounted
a cross with 240 oranges and 120 candles.
During the first two days after the opening of the Exhibition, 5000 people visited it, that is 1% of the entire Finnish population.