CEREMONIA (PARTS I-III)
Abstract Billboard Sculpture
For nearly four weeks, CEREMONIA burned on the streets of Downtown LA, transforming over and over again as artists and taggers stole the fire of whatever was painted on the piece before them. The piece was created as a meditation on the moment that man stole the fire from the gods to acquire free will, and steals that same fire back from the gods of 2018: government, corporations, advertising, institutional art movements, and even ordained public space. In particular, the design of the structure itself calls upon the work of Noah Purifoy, currently on display at his Desert Museum near Joshua Tree, originally built with scraps from LA riots.
Built by Abars and covered by Alec DeMarco, Deladeso, TOFU, Teddy Kelly, Robbie Conal, Mathew Curran, and Lolo YS, CEREMONIA calls upon the story of Mayahuel and her 400 rabbits ± a legend that inspired the entire ™We Stole the Fire∫ exhibit. The piece was constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed multiple times and in multiple locations until it reached its final resting place in RCNSTRCT studio in the most iconic retail neighborhood on the West Coast, on Melrose Ave. At this location, a projection-mapped ceremony was expressed by Jon Von Bonk and team to inspire the feeling of the societal reconstruction we seek, and to share the process of this entire ritual. MATALA then planned a performance artwork to retell this story.
To extend the theme of rebuilding past narratives through destruction, the piece's life will end in the desert, where it will be burned to the ground by its creators, perhaps via Molotov cocktail.
