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CHRISTOPHER MYERS, Toro embolado, 2022
CHRISTOPHER MYERS, Toro embolado, 2022
CHRISTOPHER MYERS, Toro embolado, 2022

Toro embolado, 2022

Appliqué textile
68 1/2 x 47 1/2 in.
174 x 120.7 cm
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Further images

  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 1 ) CHRISTOPHER MYERS, Toro embolado, 2022
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 2 ) CHRISTOPHER MYERS, Toro embolado, 2022
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 3 ) CHRISTOPHER MYERS, Toro embolado, 2022
Nongqawuse prophesied that if the Xhosa killed all their cattle and burned their crops, both would be reborn in abundance, and an army of Xhosa ancestors would drive the white...
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Nongqawuse prophesied that if the Xhosa killed all their cattle and burned their crops, both would be reborn in abundance, and an army of Xhosa ancestors would drive the white settlers into the sea. In "Toro embolado," 2022, Myers depicts a flaming bull, drawing not only from the sacrificial vision of this young prophet but also upon imagery of the toro embolado (roughly translated to “bull with balls”). This is a festive tradition common in the Catalan region, in which a bull has burning balls of flammable materials affixed to its horns, and then is released into the streets at night as participants dodge its flames. For Myers, the burning bull is representative of a collision of religious iconography with pre-pagan ritual and belief. Across centuries, geographies, and belief systems, fire has symbolized both destruction and regeneration–death and rebirth. He is interested in the pervasiveness across cultures of devotional acts like animal sacrifice to bring about change.
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Provenance

Private Collection, Philadelphia (JCG)
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