Casa No Name

In the tradition of Kahlo and Allende, Turbeville’s brilliantly stylish portrait of her Mexican house evokes both her vivid imagination and the mystique of Mexico. High-ceilinged rooms surround a central courtyard that is lined with faded frescoes of biblical scenes. The glimmer and shafts of diffused light that stream into the courtyards and curtained rooms add to the romantic atmosphere—one feels as though they have entered into a quintessential Turbeville photograph. Turbeville has captured the spiritual nature of Mexican culture by incorporating into candlelit interiors such traditional religious artifacts as colorful painted tin retablos, hand-carved saints, wooden tableau boxes, and a central wooden figure of the local Virgin Saint Maria Candelaria: aged objets that are handmade, tell stories, and are arranged in artful vignettes. Casa No Name speaks of magic realism and beckons the reader into the private world of this visionary artist. Turbeville’s diaristic presentation of her home in the central highlands of Mexico is a welcome addition to her rich oeuvre and an inspiration for anyone interested in the soul and style of Mexico.