Altar - Chloe Rabinowitz

The theme of this altar is a tribute to the women who have been and continue to be victims of femicide all over the world, with special recognition of the women in Ciudad Juarez. In honoring their legacies and breathing life into the souls who have been forgotten and ignored by the government in Juarez, we make a statement that we will continue fighting for justice. The phrases “ni una mas” and “convivencia” at the top of the altar make reference to the greater idea that as women, we are all in this together. This is a political form of resistance to the government that empowers those who have murdered and attacked these women, while also a social form of promoting the togetherness of women.  The purple flowers, a reference to purple as the Mexican color of remembrance, along with the white flowers that reference the sky and the souls, invite the spirits of these women to come together in this space. The fabric I used as the basis of the altar is a blanket my grandmother knitted for me which represents how the altar as a remedio for women transcends time restrictions and is passed on as tradition through generations of women. The blanket also has many colors represented, which is an ode to Chela Sandoval’s idea of forming affinities within difference because it shows the interwoven colors all on the same blanket (as in the diversity of women coming together through their beautiful distinctions). The image on the middle tier which is the tier for the earth shows the activism in Ciudad Juarez that is currently being done by the living women there as it is graffiti on a wall. As people pass by, this is a form of resilience and resistance to the social death that is occurring there. The pink flowers and the black cross on the pink background are an ode to the activists in Juarez that use black and pink to show representation in their community of these women who have been harmed by the oppressive patriarchal system. The earth is represented through the yellow and pink flowers, the fire is represented by the incense, the water is represented by the glass of water, and the sky is represented by the candles and the white color scheme on the top tier of the altar.