Bolivian-born textile artist Kenia Almaraz Murillo is rethinking weaving’s traditional reputation with work that zigzags across mediums and references. In her new London art exhibition, Murillo adorns her wall hangings with found, urban objects, from car headlights to motorbike headlamps, brilliantly lit up with curves of neon.
The results are striking, juxtaposing traditional Bolivian materials such as sheep’s and llamas’ wool against the more modern, in a bid to find a balance between the natural and the man-made, the technological and the mythical. It is a tension reflected in the materials themselves, with gold threads from France, dating from the 1920s-1940s, woven with alpaca threads from Bolivia in a mish-mash of textural nods.
‘In my work, each piece bears witness to a specific encounter, whether it be with an animal, a landscape, a star, a myth, a legend, a story,’ says Murillo. ‘My approach is one of paying homage. I have a great admiration for living animals, and the animals of myths and legends. I try to make them come alive through my threads and to almost relive those precise moments when the discovery took place. In a way, I am highlighting the past by making it alive in the present. Talking about these discoveries is, for me, a way of talking about the nature that surrounds us, of becoming aware of the beauty of this Earth and thanking it, to better protect it.’
Murillo was taught how to weave in Paris by artist Simone Prouvé, after moving there from Bolivia at age 11. Returning to Bolivia for the first time at age 16, she reconnected with family, friends and local traditions – creating memories and references that she intertwines throughout her work. ‘My story with weaving began when I saw my mother spread out some "aguayos" (woven cloths) on the ground to have them take a "baño de Sol" (sunbath). That moment was a revelation. I felt like I was meeting my ancestors through their lines, their colours, their patterns.
‘As reflected in the materials, [my] work represents a true meeting between two cultures, but I am also working toward finding an overall balance between natural elements and contemporary elements: the quest for harmony in this area is another important root of my work,’ she adds. ‘I was born in Santa Cruz and grew up in Paris. I think I have always wanted to find a connection somehow between these two cultures. My two homes. I learned weaving in France and this allowed me to reactivate the link with my weaving ancestors in Bolivia. Linking thread and light is a personal signature that allows me to honour ancestral knowledge and connect it with modern technology – making them both more alive than ever.’
Kenia Almaraz Murillo's exhibition, 'Andean Cosmovision', is at London's Waddington Custot, 16 November 2024 - 30 January 2025
