Edgar Calel

In Saqb’äch (Rain with Hail), Edgar Calel makes an offering of 13 ice sculptures to the River Traisen with the glyph in the shape of the nahual Imox representing the water cycle. Each ice sculpture is made with water from the Traisen. The glyph is represented by hailstones feeding growing plants at the bottom of a vessel. Released into the river as an offering to procure its health and the abundance of rain cycles, the sculptures return the water to its natural home. 

In June 2023, we met Edgar Calel in Berlin to talk about Saqb’äch (Rain with Hail) and about how time should be measured according to his ritual action. Together with artist Maya Saravia, Calel explained the time measuring methods used by their Mayan ancestors, which were rooted in observations of celestial bodies, life, and water cycles. Such observation led to the Cholq’ij, a 260-day calendar formed by 20 days combined with the numbers from 1 to 13 placed before the 20 glyphs of the days. After completing the cycle of 13, it restarts from number 1 and continues sequentially until reaching 13 once more. In essence, it consists of 13 months, each containing 20 days.

The numbers 20 and 13 are sacred in Mayan cosmogony. The number 13 refers to the 13 major joints in the human body (neck, two shoulders, two elbows, two wrists, two hips, two knees, and two ankles), whereas the number 20 symbolises the 20 fingers (10 on the hands and 10 on the feet). Every glyph of the 20 days embodies a nahual, a spiritual entity representing an element from the life cycle—creation and destruction. The nahuales of the Cholq’ij are: B’atz’, E, Aj, I’x, Tz’ikin, Ajmaq, No’j, Tijax, Kawoq, Ajpu, Imox, Iq’, Aq’ab’al, K’at, Kan, Kame, Kej, Q’anil, Toj and T’zi’.

This cyclic calendar orchestrates the ceremonial moments that maintain a harmonious balance among all life-enabling elements. Thus, the number 13 becomes central to Saqb’äch’s conceptualisation and performativity. The ritual is performed near the river on the day of the Imox. The 13 ice sculptures are brought to the riverbank wrapped in traditional textiles that protect them on the way to the ceremony. 

As the ceremony represents the water cycle, a vessel-shaped sculpture made of adobe is also installed on the riverbank. Adobe is a building material made from mud, that is sometimes mixed with sun-dried straw. Due to its thermal qualities, this construction technique is widely used in Latin America (and other regions). The sculpture will remain next to the Traisen during the five months of the exhibition. Carved with the nahual Imox, the adobe vessel serves as a water receptacle and thus, following the cyclical principles of this piece, will merge with the water and gradually break apart until it melts back into the earth.

Special thanks to: Elsa Calel, Julio Calel, Pedro Calel, Enrique Morales Larraondo, and Jaroslav Marek.

Edgar Calel (1987, Chi Xot, San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala) studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arte Rafael Rodríguez Padilla. He works in a variety of media, exploring the complexities of the indigenous

experience, as seen through the Mayan Kaqchikel cosmovision, spirituality, rituals, community practices, and beliefs, in juxtaposition with the systematic racism and exclusion that the indigenous people of Guatemala endure on a daily basis. He recently had his first solo Pa Ru Tun Che´ at Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City (2021); and has participated in numerous group exhibitions including “The Crack Begins Within”, 11th Berlin Biennial, Berlin (2020); “Los Jardineros” (The Gardeners), Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City (2020); “Continuous Fire”, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario (2019). His works are part of the permanent collections of Tate, UK; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain; MADC Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, San José, Costa Rica; and Kadist, San Francisco. Additionally, he has participated in artistic residencies including Tropical Papers (2021); Residencia Rua do Sol, Portugal (2019), and at Lastro research platform, Brazil, 2015), amongst others.