This weeks meditation is covering the celebratory, communal soirée we hosted at WOMB at the end of September. The party was a conglomerate experimentation; a play on the politics of the moment; the social conditions we are situated within, and a beautiful mixture of art, film, performance, and ceremony. It was with the intention to bring people together, to find the celebration, agency, and unification, despite the prescribed notions of how life and bodies should organize themselves during this pandemic. We placed the decision on the attendees; if and how they would show up, and provided provisions for a healthy communal environment. Now more than ever, we need community, we require connection, and engagement. WOMB desires to be a home for that, to be a liberating space and a warm connective balm.

The night began with a collective energy cleansing sacrament, guided by Cristina Chi Gonzalez, our medicine woman in residency. A spiritual, ceremonial connection that fostered into the quilt of spectators and was an instrumental element of the culture of the night. Gonzalez purified the room and our spirits, with the powerful medicine of copal. She banged a drum she hand made, forming resonant room ripples, while intoxicating everyone with her mesmerizing voice. She said it was a call to everyone to return to our root truth. To remember our intimacy as a human collective, to share and receive each other past the propaganda being disseminated in this iteration of reality. It was a celebration of those showing up, acknowledging their personal truths, and moving toward living from this full freedom.

After we communally found our harmonic ground, Amáury Gtz, Felix Oropeza, and Laura Vargas took us on a dance and storytelling odyssey. The idea was to come home to movement, color, and vibrancy without thinking or forcing forms. There were spoken word and dance pieces happening in tandem in different places throughout the house. A diverse playground where people chose an energy and essence they wanted to receive at a given time. It was a stirring and celebratory elimination of what we had physically accumulated during quarantine, and a return to honoring our sentience, communion and revelation.

As the night made its evolution, “Portal,” a film made in house, was projected in cyclical motions, along with an art installation. Here, the fusion of concept and documentary was formed. The process began with Oscar Agis taking still photographs. In an organic development, it moved from photograph to film, with a variety of epic scenarios. This exercise of free collaboration, had all individuals of the house, bring their unique modalities and medicine into the character and storyline. Joui Turandot guided the process with her breadth of fashion knowledge, curation, and aesthetic eye to the clothing and shots. The film insinuated that she is conceptually aligned with the image of the Virgin of Saint Lucia, and the Martyr; a religious iconography whereby she passes through grand pain, and metamorphosis. William Carleton brought mythological enchantment to the storytelling. Cristina Chi Gonzalez offered a stunning copal ceremony, conjuring the union of art and ritual. Martin gifted his powerful reverence for grandiose performance and theatrical magic. Oscar Agis filmed, directed, and brought his unique filter conception to the film, a kind of mysterious, occult and mystical formation. It was without a forced structure that a beautiful and enigmatic production ensued. It was the immense practice of stimulating imagination, and freedom of interpretation.

The next chapter of the evening brought an ironic, and sound fashion show with repurposed clothing and face masks. A meditation created by Martin Rentaria and Franscisco Rentana on the current iteration of the human endeavor, the war on truth, and propaganda. They made silk screened art on second hand clothing, and dramatic sculpture face masks. They found fashion to be a very significant form of self expression and a way in which people communicate themselves in a very simple, straight forward manner. It was with the intention to experiment with danger, and freedom, along with identity politics during one of the most profound moments for humanity. For the clothing itself, there was not a specific formation of thought, and conception of execution, but rather a movement with the materials in real time. They allowed themselves to be governed by intuition, instinct and imagination to see the surprise of what could manifest. It was an intriguing undertaking to compress these comprehensive concepts into the normalcy of everyday wear. A play of expression with irony, humor, and sarcasm in conversation with the heavy and serious.

To close the performances of the evening, we had a mystical dance party with the SOLAR band. After a year of continuous rehearsal and hibernation creation, this was the band’s first official performance. The group comprised of Álex Solórzano (Voice and Synthesizers), Javi Alvedro (Synthesizers), Rubén Robles (Bass), Yair Campos (Bass), Mersi Gzz (Acoustic Drums), Oscar Agís (Electronic Drums), is a synthesis of dark wave, synth pop, and psychedelic dance. They took inspiration and re-vitilized roots founded in the 70’s, and early 80’s. It was music that allowed for freedom of movement in a soothing and electric marriage, and the impetus of a dance party, not ending until 7am the next morning. It was fitting, as their creations melted into the ambience and the acoustics of a grandiose space. (Keep an eye and ear out for the bands first single“"Metamorphosis" to be released in early 2021, and their album that is in pre-production with Daniel Diaz).

It was considered intrinsic to the ethic of the night, to allow free license to all creative participants. The relationships between WOMB and the individuals involved had already been planted, and blossomed over many suns and moons. This allowed for a deep trust in the final material, the collaboration of environment and art, and supported the liberated improvisation that came without imposing a strict form to presentation. It aligned with the title of the night, “The Freedom Bubble.” A refuge for the amalgamation of art, community, dance, and healing, ultimately manifesting into a supremely beautiful evening politic.

To learn more about WOMB and each artist, please follow on Instagram:

@womb.mexico

@amaurygtz

@laur.a_vargas

@agentelibredanza (Felix Oropeza)

@martin.renteria

@cristina.chi.10

@wvcarleton

@jouiturandot

@oscar_agis

@solar_ofical

@rivaisabella

‍