Carlos Zapata 'Iconos: Sagrado y Profano'

Iconos : Sagrado y Profano (Icons : Sacred and Profane)
With this exhibition Carlos Zapata explores and examines the use of icons within
his personal and extended culture. Depicting a variety of venerated subjects called
upon at different points in individuals’ lives, Zapata examines how these icons are
appropriated and altered for the benefit of specific people or groups – in par ticular
reference to traditional customs that are modified within contemporar y cultures in
South America. Zapata originates from Columbia, these are personal reflections on
rooted experiences, almost autobiographical retellings of accepted myths and legends,
alongside personal parables.
In South America the employment of idols can ocassionaly seem mundane or
ever yday, but their use also reflects a complicated and difficult society where they
are relied upon in times of helplessness. Many search for restoration, stability and
protection; while the vulnerable seek aid, reassurance and comfor t, and the guilty
seek validation and redemption.
Understanding a little more about the origination of the icons depicted, it becomes
clear that many have emerged during times of economic hardship or political unrest.
Called the ‘cult of crisis’ by anthropologists, characters or devotional aids materialise
that people can relate to more readily and are then added to the pantheon of more
conventional religious icons. This includes idols that are commonly adopted and used
within the criminal underworld that is rife in many areas.
The syncretic nature of par ticular religions or cults result in their constant
evolution - different attitudes or spirits become absorbed, as well as renounced,
depending on the locality and the needs of the community or those in
power. Often disillusioned with the dominant institutional Church, and its
Saints seeming inability to deliver them from hardship, people create their own
new religions that reflect their own personal realities, identity and practices.
Olivia Gray, 2013
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