Vincent Mock has had the privilege to meet these tribes whilst exploring indigenous Mexico and during his time there immersed himself in the cosmology of the Huichol Indians and their ancient tribal art. This prompted Mock to unite his own imagination with that of the ancient Mexican tribes. Born was the Kauyumari project: a fusion of traditional craftsmanship, spiritual symbolism, and the modernized Western world. Today, the Marakame Indian stained glass beads decorate the shed antlers of giant red deer. Bead by bead, the Huichol cover the authentic antlers of the large European deer with intricate patterns.

Vincent Mock has spent a great deal of time and effort into bringing the Marakame beads into his Amsterdam-based studio and now skillfully manoeuvres between the modern world and the ancient.
The Kauyumari project draws attention to the ever-present danger of cultural extinction that many indigenous communities worldwide are confronted with and reacquaints our contemporary society with ancient spirituality and wisdom.

The magnum opus of this series is the megaloceros gigantus: a giant deer that became extinct about ten thousand years ago, most likely due to climate change and/or hunting by humans. Using the real skull and antlers of a 20,000-year-old megaloceros, the Huichol artists used thousands of glass beads to adorn the fossilised antlers of the giant deer and complete this grand artwork.

KAUYUMARI

2016 – Present