La Loteria is a uniquely Mexican game based on a set of iconographic
images that have come to be ubiquitous in that country. The
game is something of a cross between Bingo and Tarot, and
can be played in more or less complicated ways with leanings
towards either one.
The icons of the Loteria deck are apt visual representations
of Mexican syncretism, an engaging embrace of the sacred and
the profane from across cultures, unselfconsciously mixed
together. They are derived from the mythological and mystical,
as well as the mundane. They represent “types”
from daily life—The Drunk, The Lady, The Gentleman—cultural
archetypes such as The Indian, The Cowboy and The Dancer,
and mystical and mythological figures from both indigenous
and European traditions including La Sirena, La Muerte, La
Calavera, and El Diablito. They also represent mystical and
mythological symbols such as The Rose, The Star, The Tree,
The Cactus, and The Heart, or objects of day-to-day life such
as The Pitcher, The Pear, and The Flowerpot. Loteria
images have been interpreted and reinterpreted in myriad ways
throughout Mexico.
Shortly after returning from a visit to Oaxaca, I was unable
to access my studio for a period of time and so began playing
with table-top art. With The Loteria’s bold
imagery in my head, I began thinking about a personal iconography—from
family (El Tío; La Tía; Las Sobrinas; Los
Abuelos; La Fénix; Los Ingenieros), from my experience
in Mexico (Las Solteras; Las Chicas Mala, Buena and Real;
La Gringa), from my influences and heroes (La Música;
La Diosa del Sexo; El Príncipe Negro; El Mentor),
and from my own day-to-day life (El Ajo; El Café;
El Tampón; La Bra; La Thong; El Pendiente) among
other things—and developed La Loteria Mia
(My Loteria). It has become an ongoing
dialogue with Mexico, with life, with friends and family. La Loteria Mia gives form to irony, understanding and misunderstanding,
appreciation, friendship, and magic; it is a small celebration of the minutiae, both cherished and
quotidian, of feminine existence.
— Susana Montana
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