BICENTENNIAL TEXTILE
The celebrations for Peru’s Bicentennial were organized years in advance in Peru and in the different countries where there is an established Peruvian community. That is how in the month of October 2020, the “Peruvian Arts Board in Canada” presented its project, Bicentennial Textile, an art piece that would represent the 24 departments of Peru and its constitutional province. The Arts Board invited the community residing in Toronto to participate in this special initiative that celebrates Peru with its 200 years of Republican life. The project attracted a group of enthusiastic women who voluntarily represented on each textile block the most representative characteristic of the chosen department. Some participants and their ancestors are native from these regions; awakening in them a sentiment of pride, love and belonging to their native land, despite the distance and, in most cases, the many years that passed since their departure from Peru.
The piece’s dimensions are 3.90 m by 1.90 m and it is designed in square blocks of 0.40 m sides, where each participant represented their own artistic conception using a variety of materials, such as rocks, beads, sequins, seeds from Peru, shells, leather, raffia, wool, thread, varnishes, plastic, feathers, wood, straw, diverse fabrics, ribbon, laces and little ropes. Furthermore, a variety of techniques were used in the creation of the piece, such as embroidery, sewing, crochet, knitting, pasting and ironing, among other things. The paintings that can be found in some blocks were painted using oil painting, acrylic or watercolors. Moreover, a creative overlaying of the designs enriches the context of each textile block.
The Bicentennial Textile is a beautiful example of community work that shows the beauty and the artistic value of the different Peruvian regions. It is a piece that exalts Peru in Canada and its mission is to remind us that we have a common root, that we belong to a common land and its warm memory pushes us to move forward even when we are far away from her, promoting harmony and solidarity in Canada.
This project would not have been possible without the valuable participation of the following women:
(The textile can be appreciated from left to right in four different levels).
LEVEL ONE
MARÍA LUISA MORENO (San Martín)
Located in the North of Peru, its main characteristics are the Amazon rainforest, the wide rivers, the breathtaking waterfalls and a protected fauna. María Luisa shows us the mountainous jungle, habitat of innumerable species of flora and fauna. It also shows a native person bathing in the river and holding the famous protected Amazon River dolphin (also known as the Pink River Doplhin), a protected species. Finally, a representation of the famous “sarcophaguses” of the Chachapoyas culture can be found on the top left part.
KATY ARMAS (Loreto)
Loreto attracts for its exotic landscapes, its flora and its fauna. All this is enriched, even more, by the textile art developed by the diverse Amazonian communities that nowadays are internationally known. Men and women from this vast rainforest department produce intricate and extremely detailed designs like the one Katy has presented us with in this textile block made with small beads.
MARÍA PADILLA (Junín)
Located in the center of Peru, it encompasses an Andean area and an Amazon rainforest area. The Wari Empire possessed parts of this department. On August 6th 1824, one of the most important battles in American History was won in Pampas of Junín, the Battle of Junín. Its folklore counts with one of the most dynamic and beautiful Peruvian dances, the Huaylarsh. María shows us a couple of dancers ready to dance wearing their colourful traditional clothes.
LUZ COSTA (Lima)
Within the department of Lima, one can find the capital city of Peru, founded in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro and main city of the country. Luz represents in her piece some of the beautiful religious buildings that are widespread in the historic center of Lima, with the legendary Cerro San Cristóbal as its background. On the top part can be found the venerable image of Santa Rosa, patron saint of Lima, and on the lower part, we can appreciate the famous tapada limeña, wearing the cape and showing only one of her eyes.
KATY ARMAS (Ucayali)
Clothing being an important part of the wealth of Ucayali, Katy shows us an indigenous woman wearing the colourful traditional attire, a headdress, earrings and necklaces carefully created out of beads. The clay jar, painted in two different colors with geometrical designs, is represented as an everyday object of the rainforest communities. The surroundings of this piece show designs created with native seeds.
PEGGY ORTÍZ (Madre de Dios)
It is a region located on the southeast Amazonian basin. On the Western part of this department we can find the national park of Manú that covers the Andean highlands, the cloud forest and the low jungle, known for its famous biodiversity, the savannahs and the old tropical rainforest of the Tambopata Reserve. Peggy uses the patchwork technique to express all the above mentioned in a colourful and finely finished work.
PATRICIA SNYDER (Ancash)
Scenic region with abundant high peaks, snow-capped and barren, located in the Cordilleras Blanca y Negra. The Huascarán, highest peak of Peru with 6,768 m, and the Alpamayo, considered one of the most beautiful peaks in the world, are located in these mountain ranges. Patricia pays tribute to the ancashino settlers, their simplicity and their dedication to working the fields, through a landscape with the Cordillera Blanca in the background. Patricia’s work was created using different perspectives providing the piece with great depth.
LEVEL TWO
PAOLA VÍTOR (Huancavelica)
Its steep geography covers a territory in the central and occidental slopes of the Andes with some zones covered by Amazonian rainforest on its northern section. Its famous cathedral was built in the XVI and XVII centuries and it astonishes because of the contrast between its façade built with volcanic red stone and its two white towers. Paola represents this impressive religious colonial building using a variety of sewing techniques and a meticulous combination of colors.
OLGA POULSEN (Ica)
There is nothing more famous in Ica than the Líneas de Nazca, geoglyphs traced by the Nazca Culture. There are hundreds of figures that go from lineal designs to complex zoomorphic, phytomorphic and geometric figures. Olga represents this historic legacy by tracing a feline and a whale with a thin thread. There is also a bottle of the famous Peruvian Pisco and a bunch of grapes, base for its elaboration. To the right, we can find a parihuana, a bird of white chest and red wings, the inspiration of our national flag.
CIDINHA VÍTOR (Moquegua)
Department located in the south of Peru. It is known for its production of high quality textiles and exquisite prickly pears. Cidinha honours this region by presenting at the forefront a textile piece; behind it she paints a part of the semi-arid landscape with the cactus that produces the prickly pears. At the background, we can see the famous Cerro Baúl, geographic formation cut in a perpendicular way at the top part, resembling a trunk, hence its name.
CARMEN COTRINA (Cajamarca)
Carmen represents Atahualpa, last chief of the Inca Empire, in one of the most historic places of the country. Represented in all his magnitude, Carmen places him in the doorstep of a trapezoidal door, traditional Inca architecture. On each side we can find the poncho and the cajamarquino hat, still used nowadays, a pan flute and a little drum, very representative of the local folklore.
DIANA CAMPOS (Tumbes)
Walking through its estuaries and mangroves, touring its beautiful beaches or visiting the crocodile breeding farms in Puerto Pizarro, are enough reasons for visiting this department. The annual International Tournament of Recreational Fishing takes place in Tumbes’ sea. The price is given to the participant who catches the biggest fish. Diana has represented the sun of Tumbes, its beaches and a big fish. These can be found in large quantities in these waters full of plankton that feeds the great variety of species of the Peruvian coast.
CARMEN LOZANO (Tacna)
The city of Tacna, so-called “The Heroic city” due to the services provided by its inhabitants for the independence cause in 1821 and for the territorial defense performed during the War of the Pacific, stands out in this department. Carmen wanted to highlight the Arco Parabólico, symbol of the city, dedicated to all these heroes. Inside the arc there is a peasant who sells flowers with which the people from Tacna create stunning carpets used in religious processions.
LEVEL THREE
ELIZABETH TRUJILLO (Huánuco)
Elizabeth presents her piece through five different icons from Huánuco created in felt. In the background she represents the silhouette of the mountain range “The Sleeping Beauty”, crowned by a butterfly that represents the great variety of butterflies that live in the rainforest area of Huánuco. On the right, there is the archaeological site of Kotosh; on the left, the Cave of the Owls and in the center there is a dancer of the Danza de los negritos with its elegant and pleasing attire.
SONIA INDACOCHEA (Arequipa)
The city of Arequipa is the capital of the department and it is considered the second city of Peru due to its industry and its economic activity. Overlapping a fabric on the background, Sonia represents the three symbols of the capital city, the volcano Misti, its famous cathedral (unique in Peru for having its main door on the side of the construction instead of on one of the ends, as it is customary in the rest of the country) and the colonial stone arc that surrounds the main square of the city.
PATRICIA SNYDER (Piura)
Northern department, which capital city, San Miguel de Piura, was the first Peruvian city founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1532. It produces cotton, rice and sugar cane, and it is the commercial center of the Peruvian northeast region. Homeland of the great hero from the War of the Pacific, Don Miguel Grau Seminario, it is known as “the region where summer never ends”. Patricia found her inspiration highlighting its warm climate, its beaches, that are visited by thousands of surfers throughout the year, and its abundance of fish for the consumption and the enjoyment of locals and tourists.
LUCY CHIANG (Puno)
There is nothing more representative of this region than the Titicaca Lake, the highest navigable lake in the world, where two indigenous communities have developed in a very special way. The Uros, who impress us with their floating homes and the island of Taquile, land of famous weavers. UNESCO has declared these two communities World Heritage sites. Lucy shows us, in 3 dimensions, a daily fishing routine in the lake carried out by a local couple.
ELIZABETH WONG (La Libertad)
Located in the north of Peru, it takes a large portion of the Pacific Coast. It is the only department that covers coast, mountains and rainforest. Its capital is the city of Trujillo, home of the prestigious competition of marinera norteña, the most common dance in the region, which brings thousands of tourists every year to the city. Elizabeth represents in her work a marinera dancer dressed very elegantly for this festival, posing in front of the cathedral and accompanied by a Tumi and a ceramic piece from the area. The famous city of clay of Chan Chan is represented on the lower part.
KETTY ÁLVAREZ (Apurímac)
The stunning forest of rocks of Sachapite, rock formations that rise like lookout towers in an equally wild and beautiful landscape. Its origin is attributed to the cemented volcanic ashes. It has an extension of 1 km2, it is close to the community of Sachapite and it is located at 3900 m.a.s.l. Ketty has given a third dimension to her representative work of this forest by filling in the rocks painted with fabric before attaching them manually with thin stitches.
LEVEL FOUR
JOSEFA WEARMOUTH (Amazonas)
Territory covered mainly by the dense rainforest from the tributaries of the Marañon River. Its northern area is home to the Asháninka ethnic group, whose members have developed their own technique in the use of the forest and the maintenance of its fragile ecological balance. Josefa represents in her work a jungle elevated home built with wood pieces and roofed with dry palm branches. On the sides, we can see an Andean cock-of-the-rock and part of a traditional outfit with a feather headdress.
CAMILLA LUZA (Callao)
The port of Callao is located in the Constitutional Province with the same name. It is the main port of the country in terms of traffic and storage capacity and one of the most important in the Southern area of the Pacific. Fishing is a very important economic activity in the country and Camilla portrays the Callao through a bolichera, a type of boat built in Peru since 1963, that is being guided towards the port by its famous centenary lighthouse of 12 meters tall, built in solid iron in 1889.
ERIKA VELARDE (Lambayeque)
Department known for the rich historical legacy left by two great Pre-Incan civilizations, the Moche and the Chimú, whose legendary founder arrived from the sea and was called Naylamp. Using drawings, paint and diverse applications, Erika chose the famous Tumi, ceremonial knife from the Moche culture. In those times this knife was made using a high artistic level. It portrayed a god or lord and it was made out of gold, silver, copper or alloys of diverse metals and it was richly decorated with jewels.
FRANCE RICORDI (Pasco)
In its Andean region are located important copper and other mineral deposits; mining is its main economic activity. France uses the laborious technique of Needle felting in which different lines and colors are integrated in a subtle way to show a town from the Cerro, built next to a mining site, including its mine entry and a mine cart (carrying black beads). Notice that it is next to a river, essential to clean the extracted material.
MARÍA AYALA (Ayacucho)
The reredoses from Ayacucho have their origin in the colonial times, when the Spanish priests, in evangelization process, carried boxes with images of Saints through all the human settlements in the mountains of Peru. Over the years, this tradition became a social and an artistic manifestation for the people of Ayacucho and it is now known worldwide. María presents a reredos showing multiple cacti and flowers, traditional in the art from Ayacucho, painted over fabric and leather.
FLOR DE MARÍA MEJÍA (Cusco)
Pride of Peru, fascinating region for its history and Inca legacy. Flor de María uses a technique known as arpillería, which consists in creating a story or landscape by sewing very small pieces of fabric. She shows a rural scene where, at the forefront, the women from Cusco are harvesting; behind them we can see lamini grazing. On the background, the Andean elevations and on top a condor flies majestic.
ROSA MARÍA LUZA
Idea, design, staging, project assembly and present informative text.