We're thrilled to be hosting this special exhibition for one week only spotlighting the work of five female artists from Chile for London Craft Week from 13th-19th May. This group of talented women have been chosen for how they make jewellery with an awareness of their territory, using techniques and materials imbued with cultural meaning. Their pieces highlight the characteristics of the land they live in and the wisdom of their ancestors.
The artists will be travelling to London for the duration to present the exhibition and share their stories, their territory and their roots with us. The pieces are made by hand with pure silver combined with copper, picoyo (a local Chilean material), granite stone and ceramics. Techniques used include basketry, engraving and pottery.
There will be an opening drinks reception on Wednesday evening from 5pm featuring wine sponsored by Maquis vineyard.
The five women behind the brands have been carefully chosen. They all have a common thread in their work, they work with an awareness of their territory and use some techniques and materials that have a special meaning. They all highlight through their pieces the characteristics of the territory they live in and the wisdom of their ancestors in a very respectful and contemporary way.
Akucha
Akucha from Celeste Painepan presents traditional silversmiths that she has inherited from her predecessors. Her work contains specific symbols and stories that belong to ancient cosmology that Mapuche indigenous peoples use for rituals and also for everyday life.
Akucha is the jewellery created by Celeste Painepán Nicul who is from Santiago, Chile. As a Mapuche silversmith woman she has inherited an ancient craft from her culture that has been transmitted through generations to this day. The Mapuche jewelry is an ancient and constantly evolving artistic expression. Its symbology, inspired by life and the forms of nature, reflects a connection between the human and the divine. These jewels are used as protective shields while showing off the beauty of the territory and the sacred connection with her lineage and ancestors.
LO Joyas
LO Joyas from Liliana Ojeda presents the union of two passions: silversmithing and pottery. Her work has a timeless and urban look. It is inspired by the Chilean territory and geography, evoking the aesthetics of prehispanic peoples.
Liliana Ojeda spent over four years in England where she did an MA in Jewellery & Related Products from the UCE, specializing in electroforming techniques. Since her arrival to Chile in 2004, she has developed and promoted the discipline of contemporary jewellery at the Latin American level. Her “Terra” jewellery collection is a fusion of two crafts: pottery and silversmithing. In the collection, she evokes ancient pieces from Andean cultures, making a contemporary reinvention of her aesthetic inspired by the mineral color palette of the territory, characterised by a pristine landscape of contrasts. In 2014 she received the Seal of Excellence for Crafts by the Government of Chile.
Taller Memorias
Taller Memorias from the duo Carmen Vivanco & Mercedes Nistal presents an innovative yet ingrained work that mixes different aesthetics in a unique body of work, connecting the trades of basketry and pottery and talking about identity, memories and resistance.
Carmen Vivanco & Mercedes Nistal have worked together since 2014. They live in Padre Las Casas in the region of La Araucanía in the south of Chile. Carmen is a craftsman and visual artist. Mercedes is a cultural manager and environmental engineer. Their co-creations move between jewellery and basketry and they feed off knowledge of the place they live in to talk about identity, memories and resistance. They define their creations as a framework with a woman's body that unweaves the hegemonic discourse
They have participated in biennials, fairs, individual and group exhibitions in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, France and Spain. In 2018 Carmen Gloria was awarded the Seal of Excellence for Crafts by the Government of Chile.
Mestiza
Mestiza from Javiera Carrillo presents elegantly designed jewellery that combines silver and picoyo in a unique way. Picoyo is a resin that is hard to find as it is not “sold” as an ordinary material, it has to be given by someone who owns it and passes it as a special gift for the maker.
Javiera lives in Santiago, Chile. She developed her artistic skills thanks to the influence of her maternal grandmother. In 2011 she began learning jewellery, in parallel with her university studies, and in 2015 she obtained the title of Industrial Designer at the Metropolitan Technological University (UTEM), presenting a jewellery line as her final project, thus combining her two areas of interest: jewellery and design.
In 2016 she was recognised with the Seal of Excellence for Crafts by the Government of Chile and in 2017 she awarded the UNESCO recognition, for its 950 silver and araucaria picoyo pieces, an endemic Chilean material. In 2022 she participated in the American Crafts Festival (FAAM) in Cuenca, Ecuador.