for adidas, artisans of mexico depict their sports in sculpted soccer balls and wool tapestries

artisans portray latin america and aztec sports for Adidas

Depicting the sports commonly played in Latin America and the background of Aztec games leads Pentagono Art to work with artisan families from Puebla, Michoacán, and Oaxaca for Adidas Mexico. The collaboration gives birth to two series: a family of hand-sculpted soccer balls reminiscent of the Aztec ball games and a lineage of woven wool tapestries that portray the courts of the typical sports games played in the region, all while using the artisanal techniques and mastery of the Mexican artists and families.

‘Weaving Memories’ is a collection of wool tapestries handmade by Mexican artisans for Adidas Mexico. These four pieces represent the courts of four sports: soccer, basketball, tennis, and track and field. Their colors and textures are carefully woven and crafted using wools dyed with natural pigments sourced from tinctorial plants such as cochineal, indigo, marush, and pericón. Artisans Mariano Sosa, Juan Carlos Contreras and Armando Mendoza and their meticulous craftsmanship bring forth red, orange, green and blue base colors, acting as the background for the white threads underlining the courts.

images courtesy of Pentagono Art | photos by Blanca Vera, Enrique Granados and Pentagono Art

Sculpted Adidas soccer balls inspired by aztec culture

From woven wool tapestries to sculpted soccer balls, the Mexican artisans working with Pentagono Art sustain patience and precision. They carve four materials into four soccer balls, illustrating distinctive sports imagery and cultural pictograms and settings, with Adidas’ logo at the center. The Mexican artisans use a traditional technique per soccer ball: the ancient art of Barro Negro, the delicate Talavera, the intricate Jícara, and the gleaming Copper.

In Barro Negro, artisan Matías Reyes shapes the round black clay after the Azteca Mexico Adidas soccer ball. From the scales to the spiraling tear drops encircling the Adidas logo, the polished sculpture evokes the scene of sports in Aztec history. The black clay may contrast the vibrant hue of the Talavera Poblana technique that artisans Alicia Ramírez and Ángel Nolasco employ to produce their soccer ball. Inspired by Telstar Adidas, the cobalt blue ball is adorned with geometric shapes that celebrate Mexico’s cultural heritage and reflect the spiritual connection of football with its ancestral legacy.

‘Weaving Memories’ is a collection of wool tapestries handmade by Mexican artisans for Adidas Mexico

Azteca Mexico Adidas soccer ball by mexican artisans

Artisan Gilberto Marcial draws his influence from the Azteca Mexico Adidas soccer ball. He crafts and engraves his sphere in ways that pay tribute to the Mesoamerican fauna and Mexican players’ strength and skill. Images of species swimming, flying and enveloping their spaces show up, surrounded by illustrations of nature such as leaves. Each detail adds depth to the entire round canvas, making it a symbol of nature, history and human talent in the game.

For the last sculpted soccer ball thought of for Adidas Mexico, the elements of fire envelope the hammered copper ball, celebrating Aztec strength and the mythology of the feathered serpent. Artisans Salvador Cázares, Sergio Rodríguez, and Callejón Rodríguez showcase the connection between sports, Mexican culture, and art as they tattoo the soccer ball with symbolism referring to warriors, the similar energy athletes may tap into once they’re in the midst of their game.

these four pieces represent the courts of four sports: soccer, basketball, tennis, and track and field