Textile Details

'Guatemalan Textiles', Anonymous. (Photo: Martin Melaugh)

In the late 1980s/early 1990s, Guatemala was torn by civil war in which military dictatorships were systematically eliminating the indigenous Indian population. Women set up a shelter for children who were trying to survive on the streets. Scraps of covering cotton wraps already well used were sewn onto quilts and sold. Every penny housed, fed, and clothed a few of Guatemala's street kids.

The traditional Guatemalan garment, which accompanied the original exhibition, is known as a huipil. Each region of Guatemala uses a different traditional design, colour and textile technique in its creation. The huipil which formed part of the original exhibition was courtesy of Julie Coimbra, Librarian at the Centre for Latin American Studies, University of Cambridge.

A series of compelling black and white photos taken by Dr. Silvia Lauzzana, portraying the everyday life of women in the village of Santa Maria Tzeja in the jungle in Ixcán, in the North of Guatemala, also accompanied the original exhibition/installation.

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