Z’otz* Collective: Waiting Outside of My Hand

September 8 - November 3, 2019

Visual Arts Centre of Clarington

Z’otz* Collective is comprised of Nahúm Flores, Erik Jerezano, and Ilyana Martínez. The term Z’otz* refers to the bat god in Maya mythology, a part of Mesoamerican mythology in which personified forces of nature and deities play a main role. The artists reflect on their Latin American heritage and storytelling traditions and combine them with their personal accounts of immigration, displacement, transition and transformation. The resulting body of work can be characterized by quirky anthropomorphic figures shifting from one thing to the next. Since 2004, Z’otz* Collective has produced drawings, paintings, sculptures, and large scale murals using a rotating system. With each group member taking a sequential turn in making a mark, their work conveys a collaborative, playful and intuitive energy. This collective approach is passed on to viewers through open ended works that create space for individual interpretations and narratives.

In their most recent work produced at the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington, Z’otz* Collective will investigate the concept of the niche as a point of departure. Waiting Outside of My Hand is an exhibition that explores the notion of a space “in which to nest”. A niche may be thought of as a recess or shadow box, to contain elements within a larger configuration. Using this as a point of departure,  Z’otz* Collective produces contemporary niches in the form of boxes varying in size and strategically placed within a site-specific mural. Their niches will contain various objects sourced from the grounds surrounding the VAC. Each niche serves as a container of juxtaposed items that together suggest a narrative, forming an interconnected network of stories.