Seasons of Ceremonies: Rites and Rituals in Guatemala and Mexico

William Frej Seasons of Ceremonies: Rites and Rituals in Guatemala and Mexico November 19, 2021 – January 10, 2022

William Frej has been photographing indigenous people for over 40 years, while living in Indonesia, Poland, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Mexico, as well as other remote mountainous regions of Asia, documenting the changing lifestyles and architecture of many of the world’s unique cultures. In 2014, his one-person photographic exhibition Enduring Cultures was featured at Galeria La Eskalera in Merida, Mexico as part of a citywide arts festival. It included recent black and white and color photography from Afghanistan, Upper Mustang, Nepal, and San Augustin Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico. During 2015-2016, his photography was featured in the exhibition which opened June 2015 at the Museum of Spanish Colonial Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, entitled Tradicion, Devocion Y Vida: 80 years of Black and White Photography in New Mexico and Mexico. His photography of the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) in Oaxaca, Mexico was exhibited October-December 2015 in a oneperson show at Peters Projects Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Black and white photographs were featured in a major exhibition entitled Chimayo: A Pilgrimage Through Two Centuries at the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2016. His work was featured in the exhibition The Maya at Peyton Wright Gallery also in 2016. His work was also featured in Mirror, Mirror: Photographs of Frida Kahlo in 2017 at the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art in Santa Fe. Mr. Frej’s photographs were also featured in one-person exhibitions, The Nomads of Kyrgyzstan, in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2008 and Himalayan Pilgrimage, at the Museum of Asia and the Pacific in Warsaw, Poland in 1998. His photographic work, Taninbar to Tibet, was featured in a one-person show at the Duta Fine Arts Museum and Gallery in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1991. Mr. Frej’s other exhibitions include the Tucson Art Center in 1972, The Eye Gallery in San Francisco in 1977, and the San Francisco Arts Festival in 1976 and 1977. His photographs of Peru received purchase awards from the San Francisco Arts Commission and the San Francisco Arts Festival in the 1970s.

His photographs of the Himalaya, India and Africa were featured in the Edwin Bernbaum book, Sacred Mountains of the World, and his photographs of India’s Tilwara camel fair were highlighted in Adventure Travel Magazine. Mr. Frej’s photographic work is represented in numerous public and private collections throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe and Asia.

www.williamfrejphotography.com

Mr. Frej’s previous book, Maya Ruins Revisited: In The Footsteps Of Teobert Maler, (Peyton Wright Gallery Press), has won thirteen awards: Independent Press Award, Best Photography Book, 2021 International Book Awards, Best Photography Book, 2021 Foreward Indies, Gold Medal, Photography, 2021 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards, First Place Winner, Anthropology/Archaeology, 2021 National Indie Excellence Awards, Best Photography Book, 2021 The Prix de la Photographie PX3, Silver Medal, Photo Book, 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Silver Medal 2021 IPPY Awards, Independent Publishers, Silver Medal, Photo Book, 2021 Moscow International Foto Awards, Silver Medal, Photo Book, 2021 New York City Big Book Awards, Distinguished Finalist International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Book, Fine Arts, 2021 International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Book, Documentary, 2021 Foreward Indies Photo Awards, Honorable Mention, Coffee Table Book, 2021

Wooden masks, a Rarity in the Yucatan, Depicting Abraham and Isaac in Dzitnup, Yucatan, Mexico 2017 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 13.75 x 21.25 inches

The Maya Community Follow the Bull the Last Day of Carnaval, Convinced that the Demons have Disappeared from Tenejapa for Another Year, Tenejapa, Chiapas, Mexico 2016 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 21.25 x 13.75 inches

The Cemetery in the Maya Highlands 2016 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 28 x 42 inches

Izamal’s priest blesses parishioners during the Feast Day of the town’s patron saint, Our Lady of Izamal, Izamal, Yucatan, Mexico 2013 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 13.75 x 21.25 inches

Young Maya Women, Dressed in their Traditional Traje, Await Blessings from the Priest of Izamal, Yucatan, Mexico 2013 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 21.25 x 13.75 inches

Holy Wednesday Blessings in the Village Church, Santa Teresa, Nayarit, Mexico 2019 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 13.75 x 21.25 inches

A Borrados (an Erased One), Holy Thursday, Santa Teresa, Nayarit, Mexico 2019 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 13.75 x 21.25 inches

The Borrados, (the Erased Ones), and the Judios, (the Jews), roam the Village, led by the Centurion, on his White Horse, Santa Teresa, Nayarit, Mexico 2019 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 21.25 x 13.75 inches

Flute Music Harkens the Warriors of the Village to Begin their Mock Battles on Holy Thursday, Santa Teresa, Nayarit, Mexico 2019 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 13.75 x 21.25 inches

The Holy Procession Encircles Santa Teresa, Nayarit, Mexico 2019 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 28 x 42 inches

The First Procession of Holy Week Includes Carved Wooden Santos, Carried on the Heads of the Mayordomos, Santa Teresa, Nayarit, Mexico 2019 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 18.5 x 27.75 inches

Balam, the Jaguar Warrior, Performs his Role in the Rabinal Achi Ceremony, Rabinal, Guatemala 2020 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 27.75 x 18.5 inches

The Procession of San Pablo, Rabinal, Guatemala 2020 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 18.5 x 27.75 inches

The Rabinal Achí, Prince of Rabinal, and an Eagle Warrior, meet in the First Rabinal Achí Procession, Rabinal, Guatemala 2020 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 21.25 x 13.75 inches

Good Friday Procession in Antigua Guatemala 2017 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 28 x 42 inches

The Cofradia of Women (La cofradia de las mujeres), The Church of San Francisco el Grande, Antigua, Guatemala 2017 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 21.25 x 13.75 inches

Members of the Cofradia, Semana Santa, Antigua, Guatemala 2017 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 21.25 x 13.75 inches

Saints Leaving the Church for the Procession of San Ildefonso, in Tenejapa, Chiapas, Mexico 2015 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 21.25 x 13.75 inches

Huixtan villagers, Dressed as Monkeys with Multi-colored Ribbon Hats, Run Through Fire During Carnival Festivities 2016 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 16 x 16 inches

A Ghostly Maiden Wandering the Streets of Oaxaca on the Day of the Dead, November 2 2013 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 13.75 x 21.25 inches

Children Outside the cemetery in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán on October 31, Oaxaca, Mexico 2013 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 13.75 x 21.25 inches

Day of the Dead procession, Oaxaca, Mexico 2013 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 21.25 x 13.75 inches

The Camparsa Dancers, San Agustin Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico 2013 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 21.25 x 13.75 inches

A Woman Contemplates the deceased in the Panteon Viejo (old cemetery), Oaxaca, Mexico, on October 31 2013 Archival pigment ink print, ed. 10 16 x 16 inches

Available from Museum of New Mexico Press