Guadalupe Maravilla grounds his sculpture, painting, performance, and large-scale installation in activism and healing, informed by his personal story of migration, illness, and recovery. At the age of eight, Maravilla fled El Salvador’s civil war as an unaccompanied minor and made a perilous journey through Central America to reunite with family in the United States. In the 2010s, Maravilla was diagnosed with colon cancer—an illness he links to generational trauma and the stresses of being undocumented—and during the recovery process, he was introduced to ancient methods of healing, including the use of sound. This life event shifted Maravilla’s practices, and he has since worked tirelessly to raise awareness of trauma and expand access to healing, nurturing collective narratives with a sense of perseverance and humanity.

Mariposa Relámpago is part of the artist’s Disease Throwers series—sculptures that incorporate natural materials, handmade objects, and items collected by the artist while retracing his migratory route to become shrines and healing instruments. Some of Maravilla’s sculptures include contemporary metal gongs that are activated by the artist during public sound ceremonies to deploy the powers of vibrational sound as a form of healing. Maravilla’s artworks also contain a cosmology of potent symbols and objects that connect the artist’s personal journey with ancient and new healing practices; diverse spiritual beliefs; and contemporary crises of disease, migration, and experiences of war.