Coloured Tissue Paper Day of the Dead Garland, Cholula, Mexico, c.2019

Brief Description: Carla relied upon the traditions of her Mexican heritage to feel a connection with her family during the pandemic when she wasn’t able to see them in person. This included creating an altar to celebrate the Day of the Dead, decorated with garlands and sugar calaveritas. See Carla's Narrative (under Find out more below) to read about her experiences during the pandemic, both during her personal life and her work on the OxVent Project (www.oxvent.org)
Subject: COVID-19
Item type: Object
Provenance: Carla: "It is from a city called Cholula, in the state of Puebla in Mexico. I don't know for sure when it was made, but they're usually made a bit before Day of the Dead and my mum bought it for me the previous Day of the Dead directly from the merchant at the Mercado of Cholula (Cholula's Market) so I could bring it back to Oxford after the Christmas break of 2019/20. I would therefore assume it was made in October 2019."
Primary inscriptions: Dia de Muertos
Physical material: Tissue paper; string
Object type: Decoration
Dimensions: Height: 100mm Width: 1900mm
Inventory No: 18612
Accession Number: 2022-89

Description

Colourful Day of the Dead paper and string garland with cut-out designs used by Carla Fuenteslopez to celebrate during the COVID-19 pandemic