Kurripaco Tartan

This work is named after the indigenous tribe called Kurripaco in my hometown of Inírida in Colombia. Working with them, I learned how to weave different indigenous objects using natural fibers found in the Amazon jungle. It remembers the importance of indigenous tribal heritage, which is being forgotten and lost due to the powerful influences of Western culture that are displacing traditional skills and customs.

During my Painting degree course in London and as part of a university project, I decided to incorporate this indigenous tradition into my contemporary painting practice. Using a technique I developed myself, I created a material from just oil and gloss paint and used this instead of natural fibers to weave a piece on a wooden board. Many liters of paint were left to dry in trays over a long period of time allowing the surface of the paint to dry into a skin thick enough to allow me to peel it from the wet paint underneath. Once the peeled sheets of paint skin were dried but still malleable, I cut them into long, thin strips and wove them together. I took the resulting piece and created folds like a fabric giving the flat surface of the board a third dimension, allowing the work to explore the liminal space in-between the practices of painting and sculpture.