Pattern in La Paz

With Daniela headed back to Chile and a bus ticket to Uyuni in hand, I had another day to explore La Paz. All the churning that has been going on in my head over the last few weeks about how exactly I'll use the three months of the upcoming residency has started slowly to settle and I'm beginning to have an idea of how I might focus and draw together the different strands of my work.

The multicoloured context of Bolivia's weavings alongside its contemporary artists like Mamani Mamani (see the mural above) are certainly having an influence, and reminding me a lot of the Guatemalan weavings I was so drawn to in 2010 and that fed into my drawing back then.

 Contrasts of texture and colour - I'm equally drawn by the layers of local history in the peeling posters on crumbling walls as the detailed carving referencing Incan, Quechuan and Aymaran culture.  How will these different references filter into my work in Cochabamba I wonder?

I'm also interested to note the different styles of figurative representation that are all over La Paz, the indiginous contrasting with the Hispanic.  (Left) Pre-Columbian designs seem to be based in square shapings and highly stylised figures, like the intricate details carved into this replica Tiwanaku statue at the open-pit Museum Al Aire Libre in the centre of La Paz. (Right) Hispanic Catholic imagery seen all over the city's churches and Cathedral tends to be a more rounded natural representation. 

From here my mission as I continue to travel through Bolivia over these next couple of weeks is to gather as much imagery and information as possible about Bolivian weaving and carving as possible, focusing on the narratives the designs convey and what they communicate about the communities in which they are created.

Feeling excited and inspired (definitely less daunted and overwhelmed thankfully, although there is  such a wealth of interesting material and subjects that is interesting and so many ideas that it is going to be a challenge to focus in on one specific project... with time and patience hopefully I'll get there though!)

:-)