Tania Gardner Rodriguez

The Spirit of the Mestizo

A series of illustrations that show events in Mexica mythology in the art style most attributed to the Catholic church as well as congruent Catholic bible stories in the central Mexico region mesoamerican art style.

“I wish to show the beauty in Mexica art and mythos by using the stories and visual language of the religion that did its best to eradicate and replace it. To use the more “familiar” Catholic stories and illustrate them in the style of mesoamerican codices, I wish to remove some of the ingrained alienation and show the complexity and beauty of the Mexica art style. Mirroring them will be Mexica stories that will be seen through the much more familiar catholic lens to show the complex and fascinating stories in a way most people would understand. Linking them together by choosing stories that mirror each other and show similar action, themes and storytelling purposes both as a way to strengthen the translation in the art styles as well as symbolize the hybrid culture that has become contemporary in Mexico today.”