Ximena Garrido Lecca

Ximena Garrido Lecca

Lima, Perú, 1980

Lives and works in London, England

Garrido-Lecca’s sculptures and installations explore how the history of Peru has been shaped largely by the uneasy entanglement of indigenous and colonial cultures. She is also particularly interested in challenging the erasure of ancient cultures as a result of globalisation. Following this theme, and reminiscent of minimalist works, La Trama is a woven matt, fabricated out of thin strips of copper. In the weave, the warmth that characterises the artisanal work is reflected, projecting a history and a social context. Meanwhile, the use of copper as a raw material suggests a re-appropriation of natural resources, acquiring a symbolic dimension. The physical properties of the copper, from its conductivity, malleability, to its ability to form a ‘shape memory’ alloy (a metal that returns to its original shape when exposed to certain conditions) are poetically linked to cultural memory, as seen in the artisanal practices of diverse eras that made use of the metal’s special physical properties.