wood figurine

Elisa Camarena molds a green mortuary mask with distinct Olmec stylizations. Dating back to 1500, the Olmeca is regarded as the first major civilization in Mexico and their art work is renowned for enormous heads. This green sculpture includes a pinewood base.

Shaped like a florid shell, this sculpture of a merlon is crafted by Mexico's Elisa Camarena. "This type of merlons adorned the calmécac, which were schools for the sons of the Aztec nobility where they studied to become priests, warriors, judges, governors, etc.," explains Camarena. The beige sculpture contrasts with the brown pinewood stand.

Luxuriously gowned in an antique silver hue, a dancer personifies Yemanjá, the goddess of all the earth's waters and mother of all Candomblé orixás.

The Candomblé religion is widely observed in northeastern Brazil. The name derives from kandombele, a Congolese-Angolan word meaning "to pray." Practiced in South America since slaves were brought over from Africa by the Portuguese, it combines Yoruban practices with Roman Catholic imagery. The orixás, or gods, are the forces of the earth; song and dance are a form of worship, and the dance impersonates the god, inspiring myths and legends.

As an homage to the doctrine's cultural richness, Hugo Negrini crafts an image that is both stunning and ethnographically correct. He first carves the image in wood, taking as long as 50 or 60 days, depending on the degree of detail in the piece. When the statuette is ready, he makes a silicone rubber mold and casts the sculpture in resin.

With her characteristic creativity and originality, Elisa Camarena creates this inspiring sculpture. Arms are intertwined, as hands reach together for the stars. The artisan pays tribute to Juan Carlos Zamora Ayala, born in Mexico City in 1977. As a child, he liked to craft figurines from tortilla dough. Glaucoma left him blind at the age of ten, but he studied music, and worked as a radio operator for a rescue group. Today, he is recognized as an artist. "The arms show us that his path has not been an easy one," the artisan explains. "But by working together, joint effort can make a dream come true and we can achieve success."