Francisca Aninat: Thread Stories
‘It’s a very resistant, strong material’, artist Francisca Aninat is describing the everyday fabric used in Chilean markets. We’re outside in the gardens of Murray Edwards College at Artworks & Artists In Context, a conference held in March 2024, at the Women’s Art Collection in Cambridge – the largest collection of women’s art in Europe.
‘It’s very rough, very strong. Often used to hold potatoes. I liked how it had traces of newspaper, in it, too.’
Image: Arpillera 3 by Francisca Aninat. Image above: Material Transit. Fragmented cardboard, newspapers and threads. Variable dimensions. 2009. Credits: Oswaldo Ruiz.
There’s no shortage of inspirational resistance in Arperilla 3, by Francisca Aninat - a mixed media work that’s now part of the Women’s Art Collection, also featured in the exhibition 'What Lies Beneath: Women, Politics, Textiles' (17 February - 28 August 2022), curated by Naomi Polonsky. Inspired by Chilean arpilleristas – makers of arpilleras, hand-stitched textiles, acts of solidarity, activism and resistance largely created by women, under Pinochet’s dictatorship – Arperilla 3 also pays homage to iconic artist Violeta Parra (exhibited at Le Louvre, in 1964) and who was included in The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art, at the Barbican, this year ‘She was a very important figure in our country, especially as she valued our traditions – they were disappearing,’ says Aninat. Activist, musician and known for her mesmerising folk songs, like ‘Gracias a la vida’ – Aninat’s work is similarly charged with a passion for everyday Chilean culture.
Want to read more of this article?
We are proud to be a subscriber-funded publication with members in 185 countries. We know our readership is passionate about textiles, so we invite you to help us preserve and promote the stories, memories, and histories that fabric holds. Your support allows us to publish our magazine, and also ‘what's on’ information, and subscription interviews, reviews, and long-read articles in our online blog.
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? CLICK HERE TO ACCESS CONTENT
‘It’s very rough, very strong. Often used to hold potatoes. I liked how it had traces of newspaper, in it, too.’
There’s no shortage of inspirational resistance in Arperilla 3, by Francisca Aninat - a mixed media work that’s now part of the Women’s Art Collection, also featured in the exhibition 'What Lies Beneath: Women, Politics, Textiles' (17 February - 28 August 2022), curated by Naomi Polonsky. Inspired by Chilean arpilleristas – makers of arpilleras, hand-stitched textiles, acts of solidarity, activism and resistance largely created by women, under Pinochet’s dictatorship – Arperilla 3 also pays homage to iconic artist Violeta Parra (exhibited at Le Louvre, in 1964) and who was included in The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art, at the Barbican, this year ‘She was a very important figure in our country, especially as she valued our traditions – they were disappearing,’ says Aninat. Activist, musician and known for her mesmerising folk songs, like ‘Gracias a la vida’ – Aninat’s work is similarly charged with a passion for everyday Chilean culture.
Want to read more of this article?
We are proud to be a subscriber-funded publication with members in 185 countries. We know our readership is passionate about textiles, so we invite you to help us preserve and promote the stories, memories, and histories that fabric holds. Your support allows us to publish our magazine, and also ‘what's on’ information, and subscription interviews, reviews, and long-read articles in our online blog.
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? CLICK HERE TO ACCESS CONTENT
