Enchanted by Mexico

Ivan Alechine, the son of the famous artist Alechinsky, has a soft spot for Mexico. That much is clear. He previously devoted the photo series Poca Luz to the South American country. A number of examples from that series are displayed in his current exhibition at Le Salon d’Art. The majority of the show, however, presents the photos he has taken of the Huichols, a native tribe from Mexico. Alechine has been visiting the Huichols for the past thirty years, and he gradually managed to win their trust, which was by no means easy. The artist treats them with respect. For example, he usually avoids taking portrait photographs. In the exceptional cases when he does take photos of people, we only see the backs of their heads or a pair of feet. In various photos, Alechine shows the tribe’s rituals and ceremonies. In one photo, we see a shaman doing a rain dance. But we only see his dancing legs. One striking element in the photos is that despite the ancient customs they capture, modernity is also clearly creeping in. The attributes for the rain dance, for example, lie on a Chanel-type scarf and the objects used for a fertility ritual are kept in a dilapidated suitcase. There are also a surprising number of plastic objects in the photos. Alechine himself talks about “magic despite plastic”. Or, how the sacred and the banal go hand in hand. His use of colour is also remarkable. It is bright and varied, as is most evident in the photos of the altars the tribe has constructed. One is an ensemble of knotted ribbons that have beans and maize kernels in them as a fertility offering. A photo taken in town shows a composition of coloured plastic plates and cups. This makes the work appear to refer to the photos of the altars. Alechine is a master of black and white photography too, as is evident from a series in which he creates a game of shadows. One of the photos shows the shadow of an electricity pylon – a subtle reference to increasing modernisation. Alechine manages to give us a glimpse of an unknown tribe. And he does so not only with respect, but also with a touch of poetry.

Ivan Alechine: Buenos DÍas > 20/10, di/ma/Tu > vr/ve/Fr 14 > 18.30, za/sa/Sa 9.30 > 12.00 & 14 > 18.00, gratis/gratuit/free, Le Salon d’Art, Munthofstraat 81 rue de l’Hôtel des Monnaies, Sint-Gillis/Saint-Gilles, 02-537.65.40, www.lesalondart.be