Alebrijes

"The first alebrijes originated in Mexico City, originally created by 'cartonero' artist ' Pedro Linares. Linares often said that in 1943, he fell very ill. While he was in bed unconscious, he dreamt of a strange place resembling a forest. There, he saw trees, rocks, and clouds that suddenly transformed into strange, unknown animals. He saw "a donkey with butterfly wings, a rooster with bull horns, and a lion with an eagle head," and all of them were shouting one word "Alebrijes! Alebrijes! Alebrijes!"[citation needed] Before this happened, he was already a cartonero artisan. Upon recovery, he began recreating these Chimera-like creatures that he had seen in cartonería, the making of three-dimensional sculptures with different types of papers, strips of papers, and Ingrid (glue made out of wheat flour and water)". -wikipedia

"The papier-mâché-to-wood carving adaptation was pioneered by Arrazola native Manuel Jiménez. This version of the craft has since spread to several other towns, most notably San Martín Tilcajete and La Unión Tejalapan, and has become a significant source of income for the area, especially for Tilcajete. The success of the craft, however, has led to the depletion of the native copal trees. Attempts to remedy this with reforestation efforts and management of wild copal trees have had limited success.[1] The three towns most closely associated with alebrije production in Oaxaca have produced a number of notable artisans such as Manuel Jiménez, Jacobo Angeles, Martin Sandiego, Julia Fuentes, and Miguel Sandiego". -wikipedia

Alebrijes are brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures depicting fantastical creatures or familiar animals. They can have horns, antlers, wings, fangs, fins, scales, human bodies, and some have all at once. No two are exactly alike, but all alebrijes are painted with intense, vibrant colors and intricate patterns. Artists use detailed patterns of stripes, dots, geometric shapes, flowers, and flames. Many creatures have bodies that are exaggerated, twisted, or contorted. The faces of alebrijes have expressions ranging from peaceful and playful to suspicious and sinister.

Most people believe these distinctive cultural artifacts represent a long Mexican folk art tradition, but in fact they only began to appear in the 1940s. Originating in Mexico City, the first alebrijes, along with the invention of the term, were created by renowned indigenous Mexican artist Pedro Linares (1906-1992).

Before he began creating alebrijes, Linares was known for making paper-mache piñatas, carnival masks, and religious figures that were sold in markets throughout Mexico City. Linares often told the story of how he was inspired to create fantastical alebrijes. Basically, he became very ill and while in an unconscious state Linares dreamed of these incredible, scary creatures. The creatures began chanting a single nonsense word: alebrije… alebrije… alebrije! He became afraid and couldn’t tell if they were warning or threatening him. However, it was enough to startle him awake in time for his fever to subside.

Important facts:

-Alebrijes were created by renowned indigenous Mexican artist Pedro Linares (1906-1992).

-They do not come from a religious mythology.

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Artist statement: Creating an Alebrije was a challenging yet fulfilling experience for me. I put in a lot of effort to capture the essence of both beauty and fear in my creation. However, as I stood back to admire my work, a sense of uncertainty lingered in my mind, wondering if I had truly succeeded in my attempt. Nevertheless, I am proud of my efforts and the lesson I learned in embracing the unknown.

This is my freind Nick working on his: