María Berrío: The End of Ritual

Through her colourful and theatrical characters, Berrío draws on folklore and mythology as she explores how the history behind customs and rituals has been lost in the modern world

María Berrío. The Spectators, 2024 (detail). Collage with Japanese papers and watercolour paint on canvas, 233.7 x 299.7 cm (92 x 118 in). © María Berrío. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro.

Victoria Miro, London
21 November 2024 – 18 January 2025

by ROCHELLE ROBERTS

In The End of Ritual, on view at Victoria Miro gallery in London, María Berrío conjures a world of theatricality, vibrancy and mystery. Through crowded canvases populated by characters in elaborate costumes and makeup, these large-scale works invite us into dynamic scenes reminiscent of Berrío’s interest in folklore and mythology. Yet, under all of this, something more sinister is at play. There is a feeling of disquiet, something to which we as spectators are not privy. Disembodied hands reach into the frame, while masks bring a sense of the uncanny, concealing the wearers so that, in effect, they become faceless, devoid of any characteristics that make them recognisable.

In these new works, Berrío is preoccupied with a present-day disillusionment with the past. In a society predominantly lived online, there is a feeling that we have lost a sense of community and real-world connectedness, becoming ever more individualistic. We have lost our customs, our rituals, our traditions. Berrío examines how these rituals and traditions become void of meaning in our present day. This is explored, for instance, in Memento Vivere, which shows a group of young girls at what looks like a dance class, watched by parents and siblings. The girls move with great energy, emphasised by Berrío’s expressive brushstrokes in watercolour that articulate the swoosh of their skirts. This vivaciousness echoes the work’s Latinate title “remember to live”.

María Berrío. Anseris Mons, 2024. Collage with Japanese papers and watercolour paint on linen, 152.4 x 182.9 cm (60 x 72 in). © María Berrío. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro.

Yet, Berrió sees the characters in Memento Vivere as trying to resurrect the customs and beliefs of the past. This is perhaps most obviously shown through the central character, who is dressed like a geisha in a pink kimono with white face paint. However, it is merely fantasy – the past mythologised through lack of present-day myths. This might be shown by the two mirrors that hang high on the walls of the dance studio. While the girls wear brightly coloured outfits, the reflection in the mirrors are grey, perhaps revealing the reality behind their fantasy.

The theme of lost ritual, forgotten and mythological pasts is evoked in many of the titles from this body of work. Works such as Elysium Mons, Phobos, Deimos, Arsia Mons, Anseris Mons and Cheyava Falls draw on Martian moons and typography, conjuring a sense of alien-ness, of a lifeless past that cannot be comprehended in our present times. El Dorado, on the other hand, might refer to the mythological lost city of gold supposedly located in South America. Although the city has never been found, its origin has links to Colombia, where, in the 16th century, Spanish explorers heard tales of an Indigenous group in the Andes mountains (now Colombia) who threw gold dust and precious jewels into Lake Guatavita during the ritual of a new chieftain being chosen.

María Berrío. Elysium Mons, 2024. Collage with Japanese papers and watercolor paint on linen, 142.2 x 182.9 cm (56 x 72 in). © María Berrío.

Much of Berrío’s practice draws on her Colombian heritage, as well as migration and connections between different cultures, often through subtle symbolism and references. These preoccupations are evident, too, in The End of Ritual. In El Dorado, for example, a character in the bottom right-hand corner of the painting wears a T-shirt with a dancing, flamenco-wearing banana, the word “Chiquita” printed around it in a circle. Although easily overlooked, this item of clothing reveals a horrific moment from Colombian history when, in 1928, plantation workers employed by the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) went on strike to protest about poor pay and working conditions. The Colombian government sent the military in to put an end to the strike by massacring the protesters.

Elsewhere, we see characters migrate between different works; the same sad-looking person in a white Japanese-style mask; the recurring cat, or Gnaga. Berrío uses imagery from Venice and Japan throughout the works, drawing links between these cultures as well as that of Colombia. The costumes and masks worn by the characters in these works come from Berrío’s collection accumulated over many years from places including Venice, Spain and Mexico. This draws out her interest in the interconnectedness of cultures.

María Berrío. Deimos, 2024. Collage with Japanese papers and watercolor paint on linen, 125.7 x 94.6 cm (49 1/2 x 37 1/4 in). © María Berrío. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro.

Although this body of work is interested in the absence or dissolution of ritual, there is undeniably the sense of the tradition of theatre, with an array of Venetian carnival masks that speaks to a history of masquerade and performance still celebrated today at the annual Carnival of Venice. In a first for Berrío’s practice, she worked with live models, collaborating with Andrea Miller, the choreographer and founder of the Gallim contemporary dance company, as well as six of its dancers. Giving the dancers her costumes and masks, she invited them to improvise, providing little direction. She used the photographs she took as reference images for the works. Although Berrío links this experience with her concept for this body of work, through imagining what it would look like for a group of people to try to perform a forgotten ritual, somehow a type of ritual or performance emerges through the improvisational movements and gestures of the dancers.

María Berrío. Memento Vivere, 2024. Collage with Japanese papers and watercolor paint on canvas, 271.1 x 297.8 cm (106 3/4 x 117 1/4 in). © María Berrío. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro.

In the works presented in The End of Ritual, Berrío hones the collage technique she is known for, meticulous layering of patterned Japanese paper to create tactile and wonderfully decorative surfaces that dance with intricate and delicate detail. She has a long-established relationship with a family-run business in Osaka, from which she sources her paper. The paper is formed of natural pigments and fibres, made using centuries-old techniques, which speaks to a legacy of craft and an engagement with tradition. Berrío’s continued use of the Japanese paper, her technique of tearing, cutting and layering it on to canvas or linen then becomes her own personal ritual.

While these works can be seen as an illustration of the degradation of society, with fractured communities and a lack of understanding around ritualistic acts that cemented a sense of togetherness and purpose, it can also be argued that they are rooted in the exact opposite. From the collaboration with Gallim, which describes itself as a celebration of human connection, to the incorporation of traditional Japanese craft, as well as the references to carnival and performance, these works remind us of the importance of solidarity and cross-cultural ties, especially at a time when the world seems more divided than ever.