Tentempié

Installation 
Variable (cup and arepa: 8.5x5x3.5 in)
Corn arepa, golden leaf, glass, emergency blanket.


Art in Place
Chicago, United States.
2020




An arepa covered with golden leaf sits on a wine cup. This object is placed in the ledge of a window, covered by emergency blanket, emulating the Catholic Church Eucharist's setting.

For Venezuelans, the arepa is a symbol of our culture and our nation. In this work, I appropriate the Catholic iconography to pay tribute to my people, whose vulnerability to the pandemic flares up due to the complex humanitarian crisis that Venezuelans are suffering. Tentempié is a Spanish word that means a provisional snack we have between meals. Is something we eat when we cannot have a proper dish that satisfy our needs. The word's morphology is similar to that of mantente en pie, wish means keep standing, or figuratively, hold on, endure, resist.

This work is part of the Art in Place initiative. More info here.
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