Life in His Mouth, Death Cradles Her Arm

Overview

From night to dawn, Ramírez-Figueroa holds a shrouded block of ice until it melts to create a ‘blanket that could weep.’ This performance was made after the death of the artist’s brother and can be seen as a reflection of the high mortality rate of children in Guatemala as a result of the Civil War. He stands in the passageway of General Cemetery in Guatemala City, where burial plots can be rented if people cannot afford to buy a plot - suggesting that for some, even these places of rest are temporary.