Displayed in one of the halls of 401 Richmond, were some relatively small pieces of fabric art. Small in size, but big in story. They were all the product of a workshop, “Stitching Resilience: Tatreez–Arpillera Dialogues which was held at A Space Gallery, at the end of May (a few months ago). My apologies for not noting the names of the women who created these.
below: A woven artwork by Andrea Idrobo with an anatomical drawing of a human heart as the centerpiece.
Handprints. The words “50 Anos y Donde Están?” are embroidered on red; they translate to “50 years and where are they?”. Arpilleras are a traditional form of Chilean textile art and they have been used to denounce human rights abuses during the Pinochet dictatorship. The piece features appliqued hands and a flame, to convey its message of protest or remembrance of those who died or disappeared. Augusto Pinochet came to power after a military coup in 1973. The dictatorship ended in 1990 when democratic elections were held and Pinochet lost.
The words are from “Por qué cantamos” by Mario Benedetti (1920-2009). He was a poet/novelist/journalist from Uruguay.
Cantamos por el nino y porque todo y porque algun futuro y porque el peublo cantamos porque los sobreviviantes y nuestros muertos quieren que cantemos We sing for the child and for everything and for some future and for the people we sing because the survivors and our dead want us to sing Cantamos porque el grito no es bastante y no es bastante el llanto ni la bronca cantamos porque creemos en la gente y porque veneremos la derrota We sing because shouting isn’t enough, nor is crying or anger enough; we sing because we believe in people and because we venerate defeat.
cocinamos para saciar el hambe – we cook to satisfy our hunger
En noviembre 1975, representantes de los regimenes de Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay y Uruguay reunidos en Santiago de Chile, establecieron el Plan Condor . La red transnacional de Condor permitia a las dictaduras apuntar especificamente a personas exiliadas que habian huido de su pais de origen y continuaban denunciando desde el extranjero a los gobiernos dictoriales en el poder
In November 1975, representatives of the regimes of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, meeting in Santiago, Chile, established Operation Condor. The transnational Condor network allowed the dictatorships to specifically target exiles who had fled their countries of origin and continued to denounce the dictatorial governments in power from abroad.
as I walk Toronto 