Invisible seeds

Science Art Society

Artwork

Invisible Seeds presents an embroidered and painted textile by the Shipibo-Conibo artists' community. Produced mostly by women, Shipibo art represents an entire system of communication with plants and plant life. The work focuses on the complex systems of planting, harvesting, and treating agricultural products that sustain life in the Amazon. Thus addressing the relationships between territory, human beings, non-human forms, and the spiritual worlds.

The project served to develop a model of dialogue and co-responsibility in the decision-making processes between the artists involved and the Shipibo-Conibo artists in the Amazon, and a biodiversity expert from the Joint Research Centre. The piece proposes the recognition of indigenous contributions to the sustainability of food systems. It accompanies the struggles of the Shipibo people who claim the preservation and respect of their ancestral knowledge. They demand urgent actions to prevent the destruction of the Amazon and better living conditions for indigenous peoples in Peru and everywhere.

Project description

Invisible Seeds commissions a new series of embroidered and painted textiles by the Shipibo-Konibo artists community. Produced mostly by women, Shipibo art represents an entire system of communication with plants and plant life. The works will focus on the complex systems of planting, harvesting, and treating agricultural products that sustain life in the Amazon. Thus addressing the relationships between territory, human beings, non-human forms, and the spiritual worlds. Through the project we will develop a model of dialogue and co-responsibility in the decision-making processes between the artists involved and the Shipibo-Konibo artists in the Amazon, and biodiversity expert Irene Guerrero Fernandez. The pieces produced will propose the recognition of indigenous contributions to the sustainability of food systems. Additionally they will accompany the struggles of the Shipibo people who claim the preservation and respect of their ancestral knowledge, for urgent actions to prevent the destruction of the Amazon and for better living conditions for indigenous peoples in Peru and everywhere.

Meet the Team

Gala Berger is a visual artist and independent curator, currently living in Lima, Perú, whose work is rooted in Latin America. For the development of her projects she builds independent spaces.

Pilar Rossany Arce Mahua (Metsa Rama) was born in the Paoyhan community, Loreto department, Ucayali province, Padre Márquez district - where the Invisible Seeds project has been developed. She currently lives in the Shipibo-Konibo Community of Cantagallo in Lima. She studied international relations and Bilingual Intercultural Education. She is a Shipibo artist, educator and translator who is dedicated to teaching, disseminating and enhancing the artistic expressions of the Shipibo-Konibo people. Watch an interview with Metsa Rama.

Irene Guerrero Fernandez is a PhD Ecologist with focus on Farmland Biodiversity. Her research career has developed on the interaction of human activity and biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Gala and Irene met and connected at the SciArt Summer School on the topic of NaturArchy which took place in June 2022 at the JRC, and thanks to Gala, Metsa is also involved in the project.