Among his work, Antonio Pichillá also creates three individual pieces that don't belong to any of his series; these are Ofrenda (Offering), Camino (Path), and Semilla (Seed). Ofrenda: As part of the "Cholb'al Q'iij" or Mayan Calendar, there is the day "To'j" or the Offering Day. In this piece, Antonio Pichillá refers to the moment we meditate through the Sacred Fire. Antonio explains, "When foreigners came to invade us in the past, they burned many of our ancestors and their works such as the codices, replacing them with what we know as paintings or oil on canvas, which did not exist among us [...] that inspired me to burn their paintings, or their so-called, oil on canvas because it was what they brought to us. For this, I used the Sacred Fire to burn them and make a clear point that we, as grandchildren of our ancestors, have not been burned; we continue to exist and work. Burning what they brought us tells them they didn't kill our ancestors. What they sowed continues to exist [...] This is what my work "Ofrenda" means." Seed In his work Semilla (Seed), also known as "ljatz'" in his Mayan language Tz'utujil, Antonio Pichillá was inspired by the "Q'anil" (seed), one of the twenty days of the Mayan calendar, which means creation and abundance, represented by the four colors of the maize: red, yellow, black and white. Antonio's relationship with his father, a farmer, has allowed him to get closer to the art of planting maize. The land must be cleared and plowed for the maize to grow. In his artwork, Antonio unfolds some threads like waterfalls or furrows, which symbolize the soil. On top of these, he entangles some wool knots representing the recently planted seed, waiting for the rain to germinate. The planting of maize refers to food survival. Path In the Mayan Lunar Calendar, there's also a day that appears that is called "E" or "B'eey" (Path). It represents the path of our lives, which is not a straight line but an irregular one composed of different lengths and widths. Antonio explains that it's in our hands to shape and define our path by what we want to do with our lives. For this piece, Antonio weaved some stripes and then wrapped them around each other like a mat, symbolizing how our paths in life intertwine.
