Lyrical Descension

CRITIC

Vanessa Keith

TEAM

Francesca Dong, Harsana Siva, Monique Robinson

“Lyrical Descension” is an experiential mixing chamber of artifacts from the Hopi and Chiriqui Native American people. Each artifact is held in high regard to the culture of the tribes, including the Katsina clown doll, a spirit that provides comedic relief during sacred katsina rituals for the Hopi, the whistle, which serves as a musical component in Chiriqui rituals, and the Sow-ingwu Kachina doll that symbolizes the Hopi deer spirit which brings good harvest. Each artifact was initially placed in a container where their tribal significance resonates throughout the container through the container’s form and directionality.

The chamber synthesizes the locking processes and airflow of the Chiriqui whistle with the undulating rhythms and downward spiral of the Kachina dance into one uniform body. The cyclical motion of downward movement is highlighted through the sweeping Sow-ingwu textile carvings that guide the eye downwards into the subterranean chamber. The mountain carvings from the Sow-ingwu doll’s kilt represent Kachina dancers’ footsteps as they descend into the spiritual realm. The circular voids punctured within the chamber’s upper portion exhibit the air holes in the whistle artifact and allow movement to permeate organically through the chamber. Finally, the chamber’s ephemeral strands make up its ethereal substructure. This subterranean basal represents the collective outworldly energy of the Kachinas as all earthward movement throughout the chamber eventually collects in the hearth of “Lyrical Descension,” our ritual space.