Conflict Textiles
An arpillera for Me …Testimony and Memory stitched forever into fabric
An encounter with the Colombian Collection at Conflict Textiles
These moving and inspiring textiles or arpilleras come from the Colombian collection of Conflict Textiles, curated by Roberta Bacic and assisted by Breege Doherty
Arpillera: Cimarrón / Runaway slave, (2010)
Maker: Mujeres tejiendo sueños y sabores de paz Country: Colombia
© Conflict Textiles Collection
Arpillera: Desplazamiento / Displacement, (2010)
Maker: Mujeres tejiendo sueños y sabores de paz Country: Colombia
© Conflict Textiles Collection
Arpillera: NO MAS / No more, (2013)
Maker: Mujeres tejiendo sueños y sabores de paz, Mampuján Country: Colombia
© Conflict Textiles Collection
Arpillera: Retorno/Return, (2013)
Maker: Mujeres tejiendo sueños y sabores de paz, Mampuján Country: Colombia
© Conflict Textiles Collection
Arpillera: La larga espera de las mujeres de luto / Long wait of the mourning women , (2016)
Maker: Group Artesanías Choibá and Ursula Holzapfel, Life, Justice and Peace Committee, Quibdó diocese Country: Colombia
© Group Artesanías Choibá and Ursula Holzapfel, Life, Justice and Peace Committee, Quibdó diocese
Arpillera Nuestras Víctimas 2 de mayo 2002 / Our victims of 2nd May 2002; Bellavista – Bojayá – Chocó, (2016)
Maker: Group Artesanías Choibá and Ursula Holzapfel, Life, Justice and Peace Committee, Quibdó diocese Country: Colombia
© Conflict Textiles collection. Entrusted by Artesanías / Crafts Choiba Group and Ursula Holzapfel, Life, Justice and Peace Committee, Quibdó diocese, Colombia
Want to see more arpilleras?
Come with us on a virtual tour of the latest Conflict Textiles exhibition Embracing Human Rights: Conflict Textiles’ Journey Online Exhibition featuring arpilleras from around the world, by kind permission of Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, Limavady, Northern Ireland and Conflict Textiles
Want to draw your own arpillera? Colour your own arpillera
You can! Click here for downloadable materials and fun activities to inspire all ages. With the kind permission of Esther Alleyne of Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, Limavady, Northern Ireland, Breege Doherty and Roberta Bacic of Conflict Textiles
A doll for Me …communicating memory through arpillera dolls
Meet some of the arpillera dolls of the Conflict Textiles Collection
Arpillera Doll by Andrea Carolina Bello, Tocancipá, Colombia
This doll was inspired by the arpillera Retorno / Return, by Mujeres tejiendo sueños y sabores de paz, Mampuján
Andrea says: This doll connects to Retorno / Return, a textile related to the Mampujan community’s internal forced displacement. In Colombia, many communities and inhabitants have had to leave their land due to violence; violence that has shaken every corner of the country. The doll has purple skin signifying, that in Colombia, no matter the region or ethnic group, violence has affected every territory, obliging their inhabitants to abandon them. She is dressed in black as she is mourning for the land; the land they have worked, are rooted in and that has been taken away.
This doll was inspired by the arpillera Retorno / Return, by Mujeres tejiendo sueños y sabores de paz, Mampuján
Andrea says: This doll connects to Retorno / Return, a textile related to the Mampujan community’s internal forced displacement. In Colombia, many communities and inhabitants have had to leave their land due to violence; violence that has shaken every corner of the country. The doll has purple skin signifying, that in Colombia, no matter the region or ethnic group, violence has affected every territory, obliging their inhabitants to abandon them. She is dressed in black as she is mourning for the land; the land they have worked, are rooted in and that has been taken away.
Arpillera Doll by Breege Doherty, Ireland
This doll was inspired by the arpillera 2016 Starvation in Zimbabwe by Lakheli Nyanthi
Breege says: this doll was inspired by 2016 Starvation in Zimbabwe. The fact that I researched and wrote captions for two Zimbabwean arpilleras recently prompted me to pick this piece. Reading an Aljazeera report on the impact of the Coronavirus in Zimbabwe also stuck with me. I wanted to give this woman some bright clothing – a contrast to the brown, drought scorched earth. I have given her a mask to signify that her community is now coping with Coronavirus in addition to recurring food insecurity
This doll was inspired by the arpillera 2016 Starvation in Zimbabwe by Lakheli Nyanthi
Breege says: this doll was inspired by 2016 Starvation in Zimbabwe. The fact that I researched and wrote captions for two Zimbabwean arpilleras recently prompted me to pick this piece. Reading an Aljazeera report on the impact of the Coronavirus in Zimbabwe also stuck with me. I wanted to give this woman some bright clothing – a contrast to the brown, drought scorched earth. I have given her a mask to signify that her community is now coping with Coronavirus in addition to recurring food insecurity
Arpillera Doll by Juan Nicolas Cardona, Colombia
This doll was inspired by the arpillera Legacy of Tyrants / El legado de los tiranos, by Lisa Raye Garlock, USA
This rag doll embodies the character “La Llorona”, one of the most famous oral legends of Latin American folklore. It concerns a wailing woman who emerges to remind the oppressor that death is not the end; that where he sits at ease, she will always be willing to torment him in his nightmares. This dead wailing woman connects to the Legacy of Tyrants/ El legado de los tiranos, through her anger and love of freedom. To think that tyrants have the last word is futile; they cannot triumph so easily.
This doll was inspired by the arpillera Legacy of Tyrants / El legado de los tiranos, by Lisa Raye Garlock, USA
This rag doll embodies the character “La Llorona”, one of the most famous oral legends of Latin American folklore. It concerns a wailing woman who emerges to remind the oppressor that death is not the end; that where he sits at ease, she will always be willing to torment him in his nightmares. This dead wailing woman connects to the Legacy of Tyrants/ El legado de los tiranos, through her anger and love of freedom. To think that tyrants have the last word is futile; they cannot triumph so easily.
Arpillera dolls?
Click here to visit the Conflict Textiles arpillera doll exhibition.
Want to make your own doll and arpillera?
Follow Rosa Borras from Mexico in her 10 step guide to making your own very own arpillera doll and arpillera, textile artwork by Rosa Borras. With the kind permission of Conflict Textiles and the Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, ©Conflict Textiles.
