Cecilia Vicuña: Brain Forest Quipu

Strange but compelling installation at Tate Modern by Chilian artist Cecilia Vicuña.

These are two large hangings like a mobile over child’s cot but stretching from floor to ceiling of the Turbine Hall. At first glance I’m afraid they made me think of bad macrame but they definitely benefited from reading the description and stopping to enjoy the soundscape that accompanied them.

From the description I learned that a  quipu is an ancient recording and communication system used by the Quechua people of the Andes from 2500 BC through to the time of the Spanish conquest. It means knot' consisted of a long textile cord from which hung multiple strands knotted into different formations to encode as much complex information. The work includes items found by the banks of the Thames by women from local Latin American communities.

It is a work which could be easily dismissed at a cursory look but it is worth pausing and spending time with it. It might have had more visual effect if it had filled more of the vast space of the Turbine Hall.

Closes 16 April 2023


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