La Neta

Peruvian Kukuli Velarde makes work indebted to folk tradition and traditional ornamentation, exploring the new politics of identity, estrangements of context and acts of “forgetfulness” that occur as art is displaced from its origin. ‘LA Neta’ is cut from a series of works exploring memory, fear, desire and ideology through figurative icons that, in tandem, present a larger picture of the artists identity and belief in a shared system of traits. The sculpture seems dreamlike and more hopeful than many within the ‘Isichapuitu’ set, the ceramic finished in a deep blue glaze and gold enamel that reflects an attractive lustre. Flames or leaves erupt along the surface in a suggestion of sexual vitality or growth, whilst lucid verse traces ribbon-like from the figures mouth and down across its circumference — and speaks of time, origins and discovery. 'ISICHAPUITU series, 1998-2001 glazed earthenware 24 in. (61 cm.) high (5) Sheboygan, Kohler Arts Center, Kukuli Velarde: Cantaros de Vida (The Isichapuitu Series), 2002.