Myths of Creation and Destruction I

The work “Myths of Creation and Destruction I” is divided into two parts. ‘Carcass--Cornucopia’ shows <the first bovine>, whose explosion created the universe, hanging upside down in a form reminiscent of Rembrandt’s famous painting. The god of rice, Bulul, looks out from the carcass, providing eternal protection for the harvest. The dead skulls at the feet of this god are arranged in musical notation fashion along a music staff, setting up the tune for ‘Music for Making the Sun Rise.’ It is as if the form of the music will lead to the birth of new life. According to Arellano, it is brutal tales colored with violence, destruction, and death which actually support the images of birth and re-birth. Birth atones for destruction, just as re-birth atones for death. The artist has brought together the mythologies of the world, whether the Greek cornucopia or a Filipino folk god, as she weaves yet new myths of creation and destruction.