A translation in barniz de Pasto by artisan Mary Ortega

This work is about cultural memory, and uses this technique, history, and iconography to explore the trajectory of time from the colonies until now: from the arrival of the Spanish to the last sixty years of turmoil and the resilience of those who have kept up this practice through historical and political changes. These works elevate and celebrate the material forms and imagery that are the cultural legacy of Colombia, speaking to contemporary concerns and audiences, generating a bridge between contemporary art & craft, and creating links between the past and present of the living practice of Barníz de Pasto.

Mary Ortega and I in her studio in Pasto, Colombia