Over the past six years, Tavera has made regular trips to the U.S.-Mexico Border, photographing on both sides. In Frontera Liminal, he presents images of folk intercessors and shrines made to their saints. This new work explores spiritual practices that combine Indigenous religions of the region with Catholicism. Through images left behind at sites of veneration and in portraits of dancers who petition higher powers or ancestors on behalf of another, Tavera’s photographs speak to the history and overlapping cultures present along this geographic border and how they manifest in beliefs, practices, and lives.

Dougie Padilla’s monoprints and poetry explore his lifelong shamanistic and visionary experiences. He points to a quote from Modernist painter Piet Mondrian: “The role of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel.” Many cultures believe that spiritual gifts are hereditary. The new work presented in Frontera Liminal includes Padilla’s search to find and converse with his great-grandmother Margarita Padilla Torres on the other side. Padilla writes:

“and just then something came to me,
something that i cannot talk about,
something that i cannot touch,
something came to me.

and that something walked past me,
walked right past me late at night.”

Tavera says, “Santos, curanderos and chamanes are a common fixture in Latin American and Latinx history, spirituality and health. The spiritual touches almost every aspect of Latina, Latino, Latinx existence: family, ancestors, nature, culture, we go to places and spaces where we can find spirituality, we consult with spiritual guides we perform rituals and ceremonies as part of our daily activities.”

“So often, contemporary art explores every aspect of human existence except for the religious and spiritual. Whether you ask for intercession from a higher power or not, Padilla and Tavera’s work sparks interesting conversations about the ways in which culture and spirituality intersect and cross each other. These works have layers of meaning. They ask viewers to look – and then look again” says Stephanie Rogers, Executive and Artistic Director of the Anderson Center.

Gallery Hours: 11am – 4pm, Wednesday - Saturday

Reception: September 8, 6-8pm featuring live music by Eric Julio Carranza