Artist and Community Gardener
Quipo
Latin American House, London
02 November 2022 (Day of the Dead)
Grief is a universal and personal experience: a natural and uncontrollable response to loss that can make us feel absent, disconnected and isolated. Through community work and art we can come together to process these hard emotions and turn our sorrow into hope, imagination and creativity.
In collaboration with Peruvian-British artist Silvana Gordon-Valenzuela, a series of weaving workshops were delivered to Futuro Latino America (FULA), a Latin American elderly group based in Elephant and Castle that come together to share food, play games, socialise, exercise and create. Since a majority of the members suffer from loneliness and struggle integrating into British Culture, this group is a supportive space where people can connect and relate to one another through culture. Since working closely with the group - from February 2022 until now - we have covered a variety of different textile techniques in the arts and crafts workshops, one of them being weaving using recycled materials. Working with the hands is such an intricate and delicate way of creative expression and a great way to exercise movement in both the hands and wrist - especially for those reaching the 3rd age.
Drawing inspiration from andean textiles and symbolism we used traditional techniques of weaving and stitching to create the installation. The work symbolises a community scarf, one that wraps around the community as a protective and comforting warm shield. Since 2020 the group have lost of members due to Covid-19 and have since had to mourn and adjust to this drastic change. By creating this scarf in collaboration with FULA we aim to create a space where we can discuss and open the conversation around the importance of community care whilst also working together to make a vibrant and calming work of art that displays the resilience and strength of the Latinx community.
Members of the community were invited to tie a knot in the hanging yarn to commorate loved ones who lost thier lives to covid-19.
