Arpilleras
TEXTILES OF PEACE AND PROTEST
What imagery comes to mind when you think about political protest? Brightly colored posters with provocative slogans plastered against a wall? People marching in unison against an oppressive regime? How about embroidery?
From 1973 to 1989, the population of Chile lived under extreme censorship and endured numerous human rights violations after the overthrow of democratically elected President Allende by the military coup led by Augusto Pinochet. Thousands of people were kidnapped, tortured, and imprisoned if they dared to voice their opinion against his regime. The wives, mothers, and daughters of the “disappeared” hid their heartache and grief over these injustices in their textile art called arpilleras.
In response to the oppressive sadness surrounding them and as a way to commemorate their loved ones, women wove the portraits and names of the missing surrounded by grieving families into their arpilleras as a subversive form of political protest. Arpilleras traditionally depict happy scenes of celebration and festivity with brightly colored embroidery and appliqué on burlap or cloth sacks. By incorporating photographs and old scraps of clothes, these textiles become a kind of “living” art form: Each arpillera tells a story of sorrow, frustration, and hope unique to that individual. When combined, these embroidered works of art weave together the social and political history of Chile—through the fingers of the survivors. —SBR
WHAT IN THE WORLD?
You can find arpilleras made by individual folk artists as well as community co-ops in Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. If your travels only take you so far as the Internet, many fair trade organizations offer them for sale online.