As part of the Bardo ∞ Project, Manuel Pecina’s Deidades photography series premiered at the Kente Royal Gallery in Harlem, New York, November 3- 21, 2021, and later at the MFA Gallery in the Oakcliff area of Dallas, Texas in January 2022. Twenty works were exhibited as twenty unframed 16 x 20 inch prints on fine art paper. The series was produced from 2008 to 2015 and were printed in 2021.
Manuel requested to have Mayan dancers bless the opening reception. Grupo Tolteca Chichimeca NY performed a most moving blessing with burning copal incense, recited prayers and blew a conch shell to bless the gallery space, the artwork and the artists.

On Deidades
”My work seeks to reinterpret ancient narratives within the sensibilities of contemporary mythos. The inspiration for this photography series is derived from Mesoamerican deities whose universality transcends their specific history. The Gods are timeless in that they reflect commonalities in our own predicaments. By nature I am a storyteller and my ancestors inform the stories I want to relate to the viewer. The Gods still play a part in our collective over-busy, overwrought experience and I endeavor to manifest their influence. These are not exotic forms or fictions but guides to heritage and history and a deeper reckoning with our own true self. Every display of beauty and love when projected through the soul should remind us that we are all indigenous. Spiritually, Mesoamerican deities are representative of our human condition. They explain a time aspect of our behavior that is still valid today. They never get old and the message of fertility, intoxication, self sacrifice (aka hard work/long term goals), and death remain as true today as tomorrow. We are all human beings and we don’t know what’s coming.” -Manuel Pecina

The deities represented in this series are:
Ixchel (pronounced Ishchel) was the Maya goddess of the moon, love, gestation, medicine, and of the textile arts.
Ix Tab (pronounced Ishtab) was the indigenous Maya goddess of Self Sacrifice.
Juracan (pronounced Hurracan) Was the Mayan god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity.
Kukulkan has his origins among the Maya of the Classic Period, when he was known as Waxaklahun Ubah Kan (/waʃaklaˈχuːn uːˈɓaχ kän/), the War Serpent. The Nahua people, wrote, "Quetzalcoatl, in its literal sense, means 'serpent of precious feathers'.
Mayahuel was the goddess of maguey or agave, a cactus plant native to Mexico, and the goddess of pulque, an alcoholic drink made from agave juices. She is one of several goddesses who protect and support fertility in its different guises.
Xilonen (pronounced Sheelonen) was the goddess of sustenance and, hence, of corn (maize), and one of the most ancient and important goddesses in the Valley of Mexico. The number seven in her name is associated with luck and generative power.

Press “Artist Manuel Pecina modernizes Mesoamerican gods in legacy art photography show” By Rachel Stone, Oakcliff Advocate, November 2nd, 2021.