Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
Atop the now iconic Chan Zuckerberg Initiative building in downtown Redwood City sits a monumental skull sculpture that compels passersby to look again.
It is a paper mache skull carrying a suitcase in which he carries more than his clothes; he carries memory, memories, music, culture, smells and flavors that he will bring to his new land. It is a work called Exodus and Memory by sculptor Fernando Escártiz, who lives in Redwood City and is originally from Mexico City.
Exodus and memory is, according to its author, a tribute to all those who left their homeland in search of new horizons. "When you leave your country and go to another, you don't necessarily take material objectives with you, but you always take with you your culture, your memories, your experiences, which you integrate into the place where you arrive".
This twelve-foot-tall piece has been exhibited at the San Francisco Symphony, the California Museum in Oakland and the Redwood City Esplanade, among other places. The original idea for its creation, according to Escártiz, comes from the "vitrinitas", which are small glass boxes sold in the days leading up to the Day of the Dead in Mexico.
The display cases contain skulls performing different trades and professions. "There are different conceptions about the Day of the Dead. I like the idea that, by seeing yourself represented as a skull, you can enjoy and value life even more," said the sculptor.
"When I left my homeland,
I turned my face away in tears
because, what I wanted most,
I was leaving it behind."I was carrying, by partners,
Folk song.
a memory and a sorrow,
and a full suitcase
of the sounds of my land".
