Painting: El Grito Privado de Xipe Totec by Helen Sánchez Stoddard

El Grito Privado de Xipe Totec

By Helen Sánchez Stoddard

El Grito Privado de Xipe Totec, 2019, 20" x 30", mixed media on canvas (acrylic, charcoal, collage)
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Artist Statement
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After visiting the Motherland for the first time, artist Helen Sánchez Stoddard was heavily moved by how systematic oppression affects the Salvadoran people. No matter how beautiful the natural landscape or delicious the coffee, El Salvador, like much of Latin America (specifically Central America), has been eaten, half digested and spat back out. The economy and the lack of opportunities there show this. Xipe Totec, the Aztec/Toltec God of Sickness and Famine, was specifically chosen and depicted in a murky way, as if somewhat out of touch. Though natural beauty flourishes thanks to nourishing rains, our people still struggle from violence planted by U.S. intervention during El Salvador's civil war and its aftermath. Reddish-brown paint splattered in spots suggest bloodshed. The collaged words read "Más in serio que en broma, sueños en Centroamérica...no puede ser, no puede ser, no puede ser," which translate to "More serious than joking, dreams in Central America...it can't be, it can't be, it can't be." The text comes from the San Salvador newspaper, La Prensa, from which the artist created a fractured poem.

Artist Bio

Born and raised in the D.C. metropolitan area, Helen Sánchez Stoddard is a Salvadoran-American artist who works in multiple mediums, with painting and photography at the forefront. However, different seasons and tides bring new inspiration to their work.

A natural storyteller, Helen’s work is heavily influenced by flora and fauna from their travels (whether reflecting a time the Sonoran Desert stole their heart or they became an honorary Mexican, living and loving the land over eight months as an ESL teacher), while paying homage to their indigenous roots and folklore carried over generations. It is the simple pleasures of life that are tested in a contemporary political context, where immigration reform and passed-down trauma are central points of understanding and healing. Navigating queerness in various spaces also informs their work.

Helen received their Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from Virginia Commonwealth University-School of the Arts in 2014. They have exhibited their work in Washington, DC, Richmond, Brooklyn, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Edinburgh.