This textile piece by Reshijabe (Olinda Silvano) features designs drawn from the practice of ayahuasca healing rituals, which bring on a visionary state of thought to reveal expressive patterns that embody powerful energies. A large, symmetrical tapestry on black cloth embroidered with a round mandala-like design can be seen with multi-coloured flowers, leaves, and geometric snakes, finished with a thick embroidered zig-zagged striped border. The tapestry can also be framed for an extra cost at your choice. 

These intricate kené, maze-like designs, embroidered on this tapestry are an art form practiced by the Indigenous Shipibo-Konibo people of Peru. Kené is based on the snake of Shipibo-Konibo creation history, embodying forms of ancestral knowledge through their creation. The designs are characteristic of the livelihood and living culture of Shipibo-Konibo artists. 

Reshijabe (Olinda Silvano) is a Shipibo-Konibo artisan, currently living in a diasporic community in Lima, Peru. She creates kené artworks in a large variety of mediums, including beadwork, embroidery and painting. As an artist, she feels the life force of her ancestors and a connection to her ancestral lands through the creation of her work. Sharing and selling her art is an opportunity to proudly share her culture, and make a living on her own terms. Her work was featured in the 2018 MOA exhibition Arts of Resistance: Politics and the Past in Latin America.

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