West Texas 'religion' on display at Museum of the Southwest in Midland

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"Sheol" on display at the Museum of the Southwest.

Not many people come to Midland and find beauty in the city's vastness. Sure, surrounding areas (dedicated to tourism) provide astounding sites, and a lot of the time we claim them under the West Texas umbrella, but the Tall City specifically?

Lauren Ruiz defied the odds; the proof sculpted in her Museum of the Southwest instillation titled "Sheol."

Born and raised in Long Island, Ruiz came to the southwest a few months ago to conduct research and contemplate what she found in this not-New-York oil town. Her primary interest fell to the subterranean and our relationship with the underground.

However, the interpretation didn't seem as cut and dry as the world around her. Along with her curiosity about The Midland Discovery — the first positive identification of partial human skeleton in the Western Hemisphere older than the ancient Folsom culture — Ruiz found a conflicting connection between Midland's financial backbone, Earth and religion.

"I spent a lot of time at Monahans' Sandhills, where the Midland Minnie was discovered, just lying in the sand, letting the wind bury me in a way. I was trying to get a more embodied experience, really relating to how my body relates to a space," Ruiz explained. "I’m trying to call on this haunting landscape that I've experienced and question what it means to be a producing or reproducing body."

An interpretation of her West Texas point of view, the installation showcases five light brown and one black strangely shaped creations formed out of expandable foam, wire mesh, silicone, sand and nylon stockings. On pedestals, four glass figures sit, representative of Catholic anointing oil chrisms with abstracted bottoms made to look like drill bits. Ultimately, "Sheol" forces visitors to consider the relationship between West Texans and Earth and how drilling is our religion.

Unlike other artists, Ruiz hopes of every viewer comes up with their own interpretation and connecting relationship based off their background and life experiences.

"My work always begins with a question. As an artist, I don't see myself as someone who's providing any answers. I'm not trying to tell people what to think," Ruiz stated. "I've really come to enjoy Midland. It's fascinating. Driving through the landscape, seeing all like the pump jacks, the new staked planes and being enveloped in this environment. It's just so different than what I'm used to, but it's really eye-opening. I think it's really important to see other perspectives and consider those while staying true to a point of view."