"The sun dies in the mountains". This is how this work by Mexican artists Bela Álvarez and Oscar Juárez begins, weaving ties to their roots from Germany. Through photography and embroidery, they go through the mourning of a loved one in Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca, and the images flow from the preparations, "presence in absence", with bowls, pieces of bread and empty chairs, to the funeral rituals in which humanity becomes present. The embroidery links the Ben'Zaa cosmogony (name of the Zapotec people in their language, "cloud people") and its levels: the underground, the importance of the earth, the dominance of the mountains and the sky. This embodies Guelaguetza, cooperation without expectation of reciprocity.

EVENTION: Friday, 10 April 2026, 6 pm

Duration: 10 April - 15 May 2026

. May 2026

Location: GEH8 WERKRaum

Opening times: Visits to the workroom by appointment via email or can be viewed at any time through the window on Gehestraße

PHOTOSTICKEREIWORKSHOPS:

As part of the exhibition "The Sun Dies in the Mountains", Bela Álvarez will offer two photo embroidery workshops. The aim of this workshop is to honour the memory and the family archive and to activate this memory from a different angle. This technique aims to give a new meaning to the image; the idea is to connect, link and weave the past and the present with a common thread.

When: Saturday, 25 April 2026 & Saturday, 09 May 2026

Time: 15-17.30

Price: 30€ (material included, except photos)

Registration required, please send an email to info(at)fantastisch.mx

The WERKRaum exhibition is sponsored by teilAuto Carsharing. Thank you very much!