The Forgotten Altar
While working on the preservation of our family archive, I came across the only existing portrait of Teofila Peña, our maternal grandmother, whom we never got to meet. She died tragically in her 30s due to an injury sustained while working at a coffee plantation in El Salvador. Her death marked the beginning of a painful path for my mother to navigate, as she was just six years old when she lost her only parent. The fragmented history of my mother’s family spoke directly to me as I was holding Teofila’s tiny portrait in my hands. It is the only remaining physical item that belonged to her.
As I documented the photos in our archive, I found that many men were prominently featured, and so few women were given the spotlight. I realized that Teofila’s photo is representative of many women’s stories—they are often underappreciated or not given their due for carrying the weight of their families. I understood that women like Teofila are the ones that I need to center in my work as an artist—especially forgotten women and matriarchs. The process of archiving activated something in me. I had to acknowledge the near erasure of my grandmother and find a way to honor her. I also had to come to terms with how she died and the role of consumerism for commodities such as coffee. Teofila became the focus of my master’s thesis.
At the center of this body of work is an altar built for Teofila. It features a looped video that travels through our family archive as it reaches Teofila’s portrait where time holds still so we can see her. The flowers in the video and within the installation are part of an offering to her. Also included in the offerings are wooden dough bowls lined with mosaic tiles that hold portraits of three generations of women within my family—my mother, my daughter, and myself. These offerings represent the family tree and Teofila is being presented with the gift of her living legacy. The Forgotten Altar also holds space to honor all women and it shows how shattered histories can be reimagined.
As I documented the photos in our archive, I found that many men were prominently featured, and so few women were given the spotlight. I realized that Teofila’s photo is representative of many women’s stories—they are often underappreciated or not given their due for carrying the weight of their families. I understood that women like Teofila are the ones that I need to center in my work as an artist—especially forgotten women and matriarchs. The process of archiving activated something in me. I had to acknowledge the near erasure of my grandmother and find a way to honor her. I also had to come to terms with how she died and the role of consumerism for commodities such as coffee. Teofila became the focus of my master’s thesis.
At the center of this body of work is an altar built for Teofila. It features a looped video that travels through our family archive as it reaches Teofila’s portrait where time holds still so we can see her. The flowers in the video and within the installation are part of an offering to her. Also included in the offerings are wooden dough bowls lined with mosaic tiles that hold portraits of three generations of women within my family—my mother, my daughter, and myself. These offerings represent the family tree and Teofila is being presented with the gift of her living legacy. The Forgotten Altar also holds space to honor all women and it shows how shattered histories can be reimagined.
|
|
|
