The politics of Chilean “arpilleras “
In the
context of the Art of Survival, International and Irish Quilt
Exhibition
Arpilleras
(pronounced "ar-pee-air-ahs")
are three-dimensional appliqué textiles of
After the military coup in 1973, which introduced the Pinochet
regime, the Association of Relatives of the Disappeared in
Chilean women found refuge in the Vicariate of Solidarity organized by the Catholic Church. In dark basements and other secret meeting rooms in churches, NGOs and other solidarity places, mothers, wives, lovers, friends, daughters and sisters began to design and sew together in order to capture their common tales of torture, of pain and love and save them from oblivion. Part of the church and a network of solidarity people smuggled ‘arpilleras’ out of Chile and so the world – and the ones who listened - came to know more about the oppressive, unjust and bloody life under the dictatorship. They were often bought as a way to support the struggle, including some of the ones you see in this display.
In
the arpilleras are elements such as photos, images, and names of the missing
and sewn words and expressions such as "¿Dόnde están?” (Where are they?) The
tapestries often have a "relief" quality and are far from
two-dimensional pictures. The scrap material and stitching that ultimately
create the simple and clear lines and forms of the figures and motifs depicted
on these arpilleras allow the viewer to perceive the determination of these
Chilean craft women. These arpilleras have served as testimony to the tenacity
and strength of these Chilean women in their determined struggle for truth and
justice and to break the code of silence imposed upon them and upon the
country.
At
the time they were done they depicted what was actually happening, today they
are witnesses to what can not be forgotten and is part of our present past that
needs to be dealt with.
Roberta
Bacic, Chilean living in
Guest
Curator of the Art of Survival, International and Irish Quilts Exhibition
January
2008
The Art of Survival (Chilean Arpilleras)
List of exhibition pieces |
|
1 Arpillera, Jürgen & Marta Schaffer: Vida en Nuestra Población / Life in Our Poor Neighbourhood |
|
2 Arpillera, Alba Sanfeliu: Paz Justicia Libertad / Peace Justice Freedom |
|
3 Arpillera, Traude Rebmann: Corte de Agua / Water Cut |
|
4 Arpillera, Roberta Bacic: Recuerdos de Guadalupe / Guadelupe’s Longings |
|
5 Arpillera, Marjorie Agosín: ¿Dónde están? / Where are They? |
|
6 Arpillera, Gaby Franger: Aquí se Tortura / Here They Torture |
|
7 Arpillera, Fátima Miralles: No a las Alzas, No a la Dictadura, Basta de Hambre / No to Inflation, No to Dictatorship, Enough of Hunger |
|
8 Arpillera, Marjorie Agosín: Nuestra Carnicería / Our Butcher’s |
|
9 Arpillera, Marjorie
Agosín:
Centro
Abierto / Women at a Soup Kitchen |
|
10 Arpillera, Marjorie Agosín: Exilio / Exile (Women at the Airport) |
|
11 Arpillera, Fátima Miralles: Homenaje a los caídos / Homage to the fallen ones |
|
12
Arpillera,
Marjorie Agosín: La Cueca Sola
/ They Dance Alone |
|
13 Arpillera, Marjorie Agosín: Exilio II / Exile II (Woman Mourning Those who have been Exiled) |
|
14 Arpillera, Marjorie Agosín: Algo que Celebrar: Vacaciones en Nuestra Comunidad / Something to Celebrate: Holiday in a Poor Neighborhood |
|
15 Arpillera, Marjorie Agosín: Sala de Torturas / Chamber of Torture |
|
16 Arpillera, Roberta Bacic: Nuestra Vida en Chile / Our Life in Chile |
“The Arpilleras
are story tellers, for it is through them that these women have recorded and
preserved the memory of a period of Chilean history that many others have
chosen to forget”
This quote comes from Marjorie Agosín’s book: “Tapestries of Hope, Threads of Love, The Arpillera movement in
A very
special thanks to Marjorie, a Chilean academic living in the
Early in 2008, Marjorie published a second edition
to her book through Rowman & Litterfield Publishers, Inc. We are aiming to
launch it in
It has been crucial to have the support of Maureen
Hetherington who welcomed this project into The Junction and has believed in it
every step of the way, encouraging its growth and embracing its mission
wholeheartedly.
At the
same time I would like to thank Karen Duhai who has been an invaluable
assistant to this project. Many other
people have volunteered and helped in this process, and naming them here would
mean writing a long list, but they will be receiving their acknowledgment
during the life of this project.
Roberta Bacic
Curator of the Chilean Arpilleras Exhibition,
February 2008
Vida en Nuestra Población / Life in our Poor Neighbourhood
Created by taller Recoleta/ Recoleta workshop in Santiago de
Chile in the late 1980’s
This was created as a result of a
workshop run by a nun, Sister Carolina.
Created towards the end of the dictatorship, it portrays life in the
community—both the good and bad parts.
The scene is happier than those
created in the midst of the dictatorship.
Though the people are still poor and unable to afford their own
electricity (note the wires tapping into the main power line), they are
happier, celebrating all the comings and goings of life. In one scene, a couple is being wed. In another, mothers hug their children.
Women are not alone in this
arpillera. Men and children play
prominent roles. Children’s activities
dominate the whole of the centre of the arpillera - skipping, jumping on a
trampoline, and playing on the swings; a complete contrast to nearly all the
quilts produced during the dictatorship.
The left side shows women undertaking household chores and people
cultivating their food crops. Women are also seen gardening (top right). The
rodeo on the right shows us the enjoyment of communal and leisure activity and
the wedding scene is a sign of hope for the future.
Courtesy of Jürgen & Marta
Schaffer (
Paz Justicia Libertad / Peace Justice Freedom
This is a traditional arpillera made
in the late 1970s with the mountains of
The material used to create this
arpillera makes it particularly poignant.
The dark grey material is made from the trousers of a “disappeared”
man. Likewise, the checked fabric “road”
comes from a “disappeared” loved one’s shirt.
In defiance against military dictatorship that disappeared people and
tried to erase all traces of their existence, the mothers often include in the
tapestry a representation of the body of the missing child as a constant
motif. Sometimes they sew scraps of
clothing belonging to the departed onto the arpillera… [which] take the place
of the loved ones and act as an enduring testimony to their existence.
The creating of the arpilleras could
also be therapeutic. As Violeta Morales
wrote: “I put all my energy into the arpillera workshop; it was sometimes
the only thing that kept me balanced emotionally. There I found people who were suffering from
the same thing and trying to help them sometimes helped me with my own tragedy.”
(Violeta Morales, quoted by Marjorie Agosín)
Courtesy of Alba Sanfeliu (
Corte de Agua / Water Cut
This is a traditional arpillera with
the mountains of
To stop them from protesting, the
government cut off the water supply to this poor community, saying, in effect,
“We don’t care about you!” In order to
survive, these women took their buckets to the homes of their middle-class
neighbours to ask for water. Regardless
of the government’s water cut, not one woman went without water that day. The water they gathered from their neighbours
was put into tanks to be shared by the community.
Such situations recurred often
during the regime and poor women were forced to find their voice. They realized that it was not enough to write
complaints to the local newspapers, which were censored against such
things. Rather, they learned they must
find different outlets, different ways to make their voices heard. Indeed, “women have not forgotten the
empowerment they gained when they learned they could change things by taking to
the streets and protesting the dictatorship, and this confidence inspires them
as they face
Courtesy of Traude Rebmann (
Recuerdos de Guadalupe / Guadalupe’s Longings
Created by Guadalupe Ccallocunto in
late 1989
This quilt was made by Guadalupe, a
Peruvian woman while learning the art of the arpillera in
The artist did not have much fabric
to work with. One day she asked her friend, the guest curator with
whom she was staying in
Her quilt portrays Perú, her home,
which she desperately missed while in
Courtesy of Roberta Bacic (
¿Dónde están? / Where
are They?
This is a very intimate
arpillera. Rather than portraying an
entire village or a particular scene, this portrays a single woman, sewing and
hoping for justice and the return of her loved ones. Her face is partially hidden by the quilt she
is sewing, representing the fact that women often buried their sorrows and put
on a brave face—the face of poor women working for justice.
“¿Dónde están? Where are they?” was
a common theme throughout the dictatorship and the motto of the Association of
Detained Disappeared. Many people felt
the loss of a loved one, whether it was because of forced exile or because they
had been “disappeared.” People vanished
without a trace, leaving their loved ones wondering, “Where are they?” At the bottom of this arpillera are representations
of a man, a woman, and a child. All are
asking, “Where are they?” Everyone is
affected.
Women, in particular, suffered both
physically and emotionally through the loss of their loved ones. Although most of the arpilleristas are
anonymous, we can feel their emotions in their work. Some also left little notes in pockets on the
back of the arpilleras. One such note is
extremely poignant. On it, a mother
wrote, “These four vultures (referring to the four members of the military
junta), you understand who they are.
They took away my son but as a mother I carry him in my heart as long as
I live. I will keep on struggling until
I find him. I have faith in God.”
From Marjorie Agosín’s private
collection (Chile/USA)
Aquí se Tortura / Here They Torture
There is a traditional background
for this quilt but it is significant that the sun is absent and the mountains
are bleak. In fact the whole arpillera
is very dark and sombre, a reflection, perhaps, of the arpillera’s topic.
The creator of this piece is using
her arpillera to depict her personal experience of torture. The blue cars are from
Also significant in this arpillera
is the fact that the people torturing her and the person guarding the door are
all women.
Courtesy of Gaby Franger (
No a las Alzas / No a la Dictadura /
Basta de Hambre
No to Inflation / No to Dictatorship / Enough of Hunger
This arpillera depicts a poor población (neighbourhood) protesting
inflation, dictatorship, and their perpetual hunger as a result of both. With so many men “disappeared,” the women
stand alone with their banner.
Note the fabric used to create the
women’s dresses is all very pretty and feminine. In their street protests these women
fulfilled traditional expectations of femininity and at the same time violate
them.
Indeed, it was their femininity that
allowed the arpilleras to go unnoticed for so long. Although
Courtesy of Fátima Miralles (
Nuestra Carnicería / Our Butcher’s
The colours used for this arpillera
are slightly more muted than in others.
The sky is covered with clouds and the sun is absent, perhaps a
reflection of the despair felt by the poor during the dictatorship. It is also interesting to note that the
typical doll figures are not used in this arpillera.
The scene depicted in this arpillera
is one of poor women going to the market to buy food for their families. As times are hard, the butcher does not have
much to offer the women. The women do not even own bags or purses in which to
carry their belongings, not that they truly need them. The women are so poor that what they can
afford to buy can be carried by hand.
During the early years of the
dictatorship, many factories were shut down by the military. The poor people, who relied on factory jobs
to support their families, became even poorer.
The closing of the factories was used by the military as a means of
punishing shantytown dwellers. Yet,
women found ways to respond. They
shopped locally, rather than at the chain stores. They supported each other, and in that way,
retained their identity and their culture.
From Marjorie Agosín’s private
collection (Chile/USA)
Centro abierto / Women at a Soup Kitchen
This arpillera presents a bustling
scene. The houses are neat and brightly
coloured, and behind them one may see the sun beginning to rise over the
mountains—perhaps symbolising better times to come. The yards are full of flowers, and the women
in this scene are all busy at work.
During the regime, women did not
have the luxury of giving in to their sorrow or despair. Poor women in the shantytowns were the main
victims of the new regime. Thousands of
them became the only providers for their homes, as their husbands, father, and
sons disappeared or roamed the country looking for menial jobs. Even though their loved ones were lost or
suffering, women were still responsible for providing for their families and
themselves.
This arpillera depicts a soup
kitchen. With so many people out of jobs
and so many families missing husbands and sons (note that there are no men in
this piece), soup kitchens became important sources of sustenance for the poor
and a way of meeting with others who had suffered similarly. It became a part of daily life, just as
sweeping, shopping, and doing the laundry.
From Marjorie Agosín’s private
collection (Chile/USA)
Exilio / Exile (Women at the Airport)
The scene depicted in this arpillera
is interesting because, while it contains elements of a traditional arpillera,
it is set in an airport rather than the traditional Chilean village. Still, one may note the traditional backdrop
of the mountains and sky.
This is a busy scene. In the foreground, women are carrying their
suitcases, preparing to leave the country.
During the dictatorship, forced exile was a recurrent theme. Countless people were forced to leave
This piece is sad, but it is also
challenging. In the midst of the women
with suitcases are two people holding a banner which says, “For the Right to
Live in Our Homeland. No to Exile!” Though they are sad to see their loved ones go,
they are still defiant. They want to be
heard.
From Marjorie Agosín’s private
collection (Chile/USA)
Homenaje a los caídos / Homage to the fallen Ones
In this sombre traditional arpillera
there is no sun in the sky and the hills are made in one flat colour. Black material dominates the foreground. In the background, poor villagers use wires
to tap into the main power supply.
Racked with poverty, these villagers cannot afford to pay for their
electricity.
The road in this poor neighbourhood
is lined with candles, lit in remembrance of those who have disappeared. The central figure in this arpillera carries
pages campaigning against torture. The
women on the road are lying down as part of the protest, while others carry a
banner bearing the words, “Homage to the fallen ones.”
This arpillera gives voice to the
sorrow and loss felt by so many. …this
work utilises the feminine by articulating the most intimate gestures, such as
the long hours of dedication to manual work in order to create textiles that,
from the universal and feminine perspectives, tell a story of the war, horror,
and violence created by men.
Courtesy of Fátima Miralles (
La Cueca Sola / They Dance Alone
La Cueca Sola is a very poignant
piece in this exhibition. The
traditional Chilean dance, La Cueca, is danced in pairs—an important fact
considering the dance is meant to represent the different emotions and stages
of romance.
In La Cueca Sola, though, the women
dance alone. Their husbands, sons,
brothers, or lovers have been disappeared or exiled, so they continue the
dance, wearing the image of their loved ones over their hearts. “The dance represents a denunciation of a
society that makes the bodies of victims of political violence disappear,
denying them a proper burial and silencing their mourners. Through la
cueca sola, the dancers tell a story with their solitary feet, the story of
the mutilated body of a loved one.
Through their movements and the guitar music, the women also recreate
the pleasure of dancing with the missing person.”
La Cueca Sola has become a powerful
story. The women prove to the world that
their dance, their culture, cannot be stopped by military action. “By dancing the national dance of
From Marjorie Agosín’s private
collection (Chile/USA)
Exilio ll / Exile II (Woman mourning those who have been exiled)
As in many other quilts
a woman is here depicted mourning alone. The image is cold with a dark sky,
snow-capped peaks and beyond a darkened city.
The outline of the woman has big tears in her eye. In the right corner is a plane going over the
mountains to exile. The woman is longing for the return of her beloved. This
pain and sorrow is what fuelled the entire arpillera movement. During the Pinochet regime countless people
were disappeared, executed or forced into exile. Families were broken, and loved ones went
missing without warning or explanation.
Women began speaking out against the disappearance of loved ones, and to
that voice was added more voices protesting the economic situation, the
torture, and the lack of justice.
Through all the protesting, though, one longing remained predominant—the
longing that some day families would be reunited or properly remembered.
Though the arpilleras
often appear women-centred, it is the lack of men that is the cause of their
creation. The women who created these
arpilleras were not necessarily feminists, though some of them were. Though they frequently presented strong faces
to the world, they still mourned the loss of their loved ones. Iris tells me that her husband disappeared
when she was expecting a son. They talk
about the fact that they have lost their sexuality, that they aren’t interested
in dressing up, or going out to parties.
These women will mourn forever.
All that remains is the collective trauma of a generation that never
knew their fathers and that grew in a divided country.
From Marjorie Agosín’s
private collection (Chile/USA)
Algo que Celebrar: Vacaciones en
Nuestra Comunidad
Something to Celebrate:
Remembering who you are and where
you come from is important to the people of
This arpillera depicts a time of joy
and playfulness as children play in the open and adults go about their normal
duties. Note the Nativity scene at the bottom of this arpillera, which lets us
know that it is Xmas time, thus summer in
The arpillera unites the vast traditions of artists who sing, inform,
paint and weave hope. Retelling history from the voice of the dispossessed is
to rewrite history and envision a better future.
From Marjorie Agosín’s private
collection (Chile/USA)
Sala de torturas / Chamber of Torture
This is one of the most visually
startling pieces in the collection. Set
against a simple black background, this arpillera speaks unapologetically about
Torture is a difficult subject.
According to the Valech Report, thousands of people were subjected to some form
of torture during Pinochet’s regime. 35 868 approached the Commission. Out of this group, 27255 people were officially registered
as victims of torture.
This
arpillera shows people being
tortured. It graphically depicts the experience lived by survivors. It shows
these people in a dehumanized way, their features are not recognizable and
signals this inhuman experience as not only lived by single individuals, but by
significant groups of people. It is striking to notice in the woman who made
this arpillera her willingness to talk about the past and to deny oblivion, constants
that reappear both in conversations and arpilleras.
From Marjorie Agosín’s private
collection (Chile/USA)
Nuestra vida en Chile / Our life
in Chile
Created by Elena Cerón Sandoval in
Santiago de Chile 2007
This is an example of the type of
arpillera being made today to be sold as a means of earning a living. It is a traditional design with the
snow-capped Chilean mountains and the sun in the background and gives us a more
colourful and productive picture of village life. However, there are still no men shown in the
quilt.
In the left foreground is the market
with women selling vegetables and bread.
Carts are used to transport goods because few people own cars. Women are shown tending animals and birds,
picking fruit, weaving, washing clothes, collecting firewood and carrying
water.
The artist used to produce political
arpilleras from the late 1970s. It is
interesting to note how this later work uses different material - acrylic
backing rather than the traditional Hessian because of commercial
concerns. It is disappointing too that
Elena has not been offered opportunities to share her skills and experience in
workshops or with schoolchildren.
Courtesy of Roberta Bacic (
