Hanaqpacha Intiq Sombran :: 2004
U.S. Armed Forces Parachute and pom poms

FEATURED in
“Pachamama Hanaqpacha K’anchay” ICPNA Cusco, Peru 2004
“Killamanta Kutimusaq” Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. Ridgefield, CT 2006

I collaborated with five individuals from the Q’ERO NATION in Cusco, Peru in March of 2004. Their villages are located in the HIGH ANDES approx. 15000 feet above sea level, a two-day journey from Cusco. This remoteness helped to isolate them from the Spanish, and the QERO’S NATION is one of the last indigenous communities in Peru living a traditional lifestyle pre-dating the Incan period. We produced a pattern piece out of approx. 1300 pom poms inspired from the traditional “chu'llu’s” hat of the Q'EROS. The structure is a bright yellow parachute 12 feet in diameter from the US ARMED FORCES. The parachute was used for landing planes on aircraft carriers. It is not a solid piece of material but more like a web form. The parachute mounts on the ceiling and the pom poms hang down from the interior webbing of the parachute. Working together with the Q'EROS, we utilized their innate sense of pattern found in their traditional woven textiles, plus a design sense I’ve formulated from my extensive work in pattern.