Tuesday, 19 March 2024

Textile Details

'Hermanos Mapuche en huelga de hambre / Mapuche people on hunger strike', by Aurora Ortiz. (Photo: Martin Melaugh)
'Hermanos Mapuche en huelga de hambre / Mapuche people on hunger strike', by Aurora Ortiz. (Photo: Martin Melaugh)

 

Title of Textile:Hermanos Mapuche en huelga de hambre / Mapuche people on hunger strike
Maker: Aurora Ortiz
Country of Origin: Chile
Year Produced: 2011
Size (cm): 49cm (w) x 41cm (l)
Materials: Scraps of material hand sewn onto burlap
Type of Textile: Arpillera
Description:

This poignant arpillera portrays recent repression experienced by the Mapuche people, in Southern Chile, a people who have suffered colonisation for over 500 years. In 2010, thirty-four peasant Mapuche prisoners went on hunger strike in protest against being imprisoned for defending their land. They were seeking a fair trial and contested the state's argument that they were terrorists. They demanded that in their case, the anti -terrorist law should not be applied.

In this arpillera, we are brought inside one of the prisons where the hunger strike took place. Women supporters in their traditional dress surround the 10 men languishing on the floor covered by blankets provided by their relatives and friends. On one of the tables, a sign informs us that these men have been 81 days on hunger strike. The date it started and ended is also given.

Through the window, memories of their native homes are visible, volcanoes, monkey-puzzle trees and flowers; the land and home they defend to death.

The Mapuche flag is placed in a prominent place to reinforce their identity. The artist has added her support by embroidering a banner that reads: "Strength Compañeros."

Owner: Conflict Textiles collection
Location: Roberta Bacic, Northern Ireland
Original / Replica: Original
Photographer: Martin Melaugh
Provenance: Conflict Textiles collection



Textile exhibited at: Transforming threads of resistance, 27/02/2012 - 9/03/2012
ÜberlebensKunst - Konfliktbearbeitung durch textile Bilder, 12/07/2012 - 26/08/2012
Stitching and Unstitching The Troubles-phase 1, 5/09/2012 - 29/09/2012
Stitching and Unstitching The Troubles-phase 2, 13/04/2013 - 29/06/2013
Arpilleras in contested spaces, 3/09/2013 - 6/09/2013
RETAZOS TESTIMONIALES: arpilleras de Chile y otras latitudes, 28/09/2013 - 10/11/2013
SMALL Actions BIG Movements, 1/07/2014 - 11/07/2014
Arpilleras: Verhalen over leven / Arpilleras: stories of life and survival, 23/09/2015 - 20/11/2015
ARPILLERAS: verhalen over leven / ARPILLERAS: stories of life and survival, 16/01/2016 - 24/02/2016
TRAVELLING TAPESTRIES: STORIES OF THE CHILEAN ARPILLERAS, 10/03/2016 - 11/03/2016
Enduring Life: Arpillera Voices, 11/05/2016 - 15/07/2016
Stitched Legacies of Conflicts , 7/10/2016 - 26/11/2016
Stitching Memoryscape 「記憶風景を縫う」, 30/05/2017 - 12/06/2017
Stitching Memoryscape 「記憶風景を縫う」, 1/07/2017 - 9/07/2017
Stitching Memoryscape 「記憶風景を縫う」, 29/08/2017 - 3/09/2017
Justicia Transicional y Arte-Textil / Transitional Justice and Art-Textile, 24/09/2018 - 18/10/2018
Poesie des Nähens / The Poetry of Stitching, 17/01/2020 - 8/03/2020
Macht mit anstatt Macht über: Widerstand für eine gerechte Welt ist möglich!, 9/09/2021 - 9/09/2021
Lenguaje Textil: materialidad, conservación y archivos, 26/10/2022 - 29/10/2022
Anticolonial Archiving as Method, 10/03/2023 - 10/03/2023
Threads of Empowerment: Conflict Textiles’ International Journey, 21/06/2024 - 31/03/2025



Textile Detail Image(s)