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Introspection: The Junior S**t-Show

Mi Maya

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Alexis Espinosa
Mi Maya by Alexis Espinosa

Mi Maya is a 6'x6' acrylic painting. It is painted upon a non stretched, unprimed canvas roll. It is to be extended and hanged on a wall. The piece is to be read clockwise. Mi Maya is a personal interpretation of being a witness to major events of 2020. The inspiration behind this piece’s design comes from the Mayan Maya Calendar, created pre-Colombian-Mesoamerica. I created an interpretation of the cycles that existed in the Maya Calendar to divide the imagery. The Maya Calendar is an object that sparks fear in me, however during the period of 2020 fear had a constant coexistence in my mind.

There was an abundance of events that took place throughout the year so I narrowed it down to the ones I felt were prominent. For the four chosen "cycles" of Mi Maya, were: the time of peace from my stay abroad, witnessing the protest sparked by the murder of George Floyd, the multitude of fires in California, and the 2020 Presidental election. I’ve chosen to exclude any pandemic related imagery, on the count that it is a given that 2020 is associated with the virus.

Utilizing the Maya calendar as a reference, the main subject is in a circle shape. There are two rings of images and the center. At the center of the piece is a face within the circle. The face is warped with wide eyes staring out at the viewer. The coloration and design of the face were chosen as a reflection of my pale skin and brown eyes. Surrounding the face is an array of colors from blue, green to magenta and yellow. The first ring of the circle is a red, black, and grey space. Black matter floats in this space. White lines extend from the center. 4 smaller warped faces are sitting in at different points of the ring. The 4 faces represent the chosen cycles.

The first circle face has a pinched expression, the 2nd is an angry face wearing a mask, the 3rd is a melting face, and the 4th is another angry face with prominent under-eye shadows. The 2nd ring contains the 4 cycles imagery. In the upper right corner, there exists a darkened painting of Tokyo with a blue background. Tokyo is the place I stayed abroad in the early part of the year and felt at peace. The bottom right is a yellow space with grey figures watching the white screen. The words “I can’t breathe” are spelled out on the screen. The Bottom Left is black hills and a tree on fire with a smokey red sky. In remeininance of the continuous fires enduring the warmer months. The upper left corner has black and white coloration. Two shadowy figures stand at a pedestal in a box. Stray red marks on their face and chest. A simple imagery of our wayward presidential election. The circle is enclosed with an orchid yellow rim. Four needles on each edge. The largest needle sits at the top of the piece pointing down. With the needle sitting atop of the face, it concludes the Mi Maya calendar. Outside the circle, it floats in a dark blue space. Cartoon Esque clouds float in each corner of Mi Maya. The clouds are to create heaven above the Mi Maya, watching over the calendar.

In my 20 years of existence never have I ever felt more awake, aware, and an adult. My experience with the year 2020, has shown me how much of a witness I am and how many major events can change me. While I normally draw upon my knowledge of history and Japanese culture, I took a stride to tap into a different perspective. The Mayan civilization which has made up Central America, I believe it would assist in creating my personal narrative. While the original Maya calendar covers the longevity of their people, I know there is still much to be said about covering what took place just last year. Mi Maya shows only the surface level on the complexity of events but still says enough to what we witness.