Rich in cultural reference and personal history, the distinctive work of Bolivian artist Kenia Almaraz Murillo explores familial legacies, Andean mythologies, and diasporic identity.

Waddington Custot is delighted to present the gallery’s first show of Kenia Almaraz Murillo (b. 1994, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia) after announcing global representation of the artist earlier this year. Rich in cultural reference and personal history, Kenia’s distinctive work explores familial legacies, Andean mythologies, and diasporic identity. Taught weaving in Paris by the nonagenarian textile artist Simone Prouvé, Kenia uses her practice to connect with the generations of weavers among the women in her family in Bolivia, and her large wall-based sculptures, hand-woven from her Paris studio, blend Andean tradition and references to modern Bolivian life with a unique diasporic perspective. Kenia’s ambitious wall hangings are created with indigenous South American yarns, the surfaces of which are adorned with found urban objects, such as car reflectors and motorbike headlamps or items sourced from traditional Bolivian markets, lit with neon LED lights. In her new series, the artist introduces embroidered motifs from carnival costumes designed for the iconic Carnival of Oruro, in which pre-Columbian Andean deities and the Catholic Virgin del Socavón are venerated alongside one another in lively performances describing Bolivia’s resilience after histories of colonialism and slavery. Kenia Almaraz Murillo: Andean Cosmovision will debut 15 unseen wall-based works, including 10 larger woven pieces, and five smaller sculptures incorporating a wooden infrastructure and painted threaded wool, which inhabit the final space of the gallery. After moving to Paris from Santa Cruz de la Sierra at the age of 11, separated from her parents, Kenia progressed through the French education system, eventually learning the language and embracing her new environment. Returning to Bolivia to visit only years later as a teenager, an experience which overwhelmed her with sensory memories of her childhood, Kenia was transfixed by her mother’s aguayos, patterned woven cloths, which were cared for as family treasures. Kenia would discover her grandmother and great-grandmother were skilled weavers, and the aguayos took on new significance as physical memories of her ancestors, bearing the trace of their working hands; as their new guardian, Kenia would bring them with her on her return to France.