Luis Felipe Gutiérrez Rosas, T'uuch Lamp (RECYCLED & RESCUED 2024)

Photos:

Luis Felipe Gutiérrez

Country:

México

In many of our Mexican cultures, some of the divine or demonic entities used to take animal forms as a disguise to blend in among the indigenous peoples. But particularly, in the Mayan culture, the spirit that is shaped like a monkey symbolizes positivity and abundance of cocoa, a sacred plant that gives rise to chocolate. In the Mayan language, Mono translates as 'T'uuch', and in his divine character, the monkey god is associated with the arts, music and sculpture. This monkey-shaped lamp is sculpted from walnut wood rescued from a business that was in the process of remodeling, where wooden furniture and shelves were removed. During its production, different carpentry and joinery techniques were used. For the body of the monkey, some parts of boards were planed and glued. For the tail, small pieces were assembled one by one, while the LED lighting wiring was installed. Both pieces (the monkey's body and tail) were then assembled and the sculpture was hand carved into the final shape. Honey bee wax was used for the finish.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.