Pilar Castillo

Offerings + Sacrifice

2022

I have found in my ‘personal mythology’ a longing to reconnect with my cultural heritage. My artwork attempts to bridge these sacred parts of me that are buried deep; it is in essence an excavation of the rubble that has been left behind. 

Over the years I’ve illustrated a series in which I visualize myself making an offering that is meant to strengthen my connection to the spirit world of my ancestors. In this pact, I recognize that I will have to sacrifice something sacred in return. 

Building a temple in honor of my Maya ancestors has occupied my imagination since childhood. It is now so deeply rooted in my spiritual consciousness that it has transcended a physical manifestation; that if this work does not materialize in this lifetime, it very much exists in the cosmic realm. 

Collaborating with my father, a master craftsman and woodworker, we poured the resin into the mahogany corbeled arch; fusing together what we have lost and found as a family, as immigrants, as generations removed from our sacred ancestral line. This work is a manifestation of how we heal and piece together the memory of our homeland.