‘Autopsia de La Matriarca’ (Autopsy of the Matriarchy) puts forth a speculative dissection of the Latinx matriarch. Within the context of our own shared experiences -as a collective- we have chosen to conceptualise our matriarch as being the essence, like oxygen, the source of life.

In the left window, we enlarge traditional motifs within the household. The colour of each silhouette is symbolic of every member's visual association with their caregiver. A performance, set in the corner on a vintage television, depicts each colour being poured and mixed into one vessel to create a singular shade that is then used to frame both window scenes.

Our progenitor, per se, is found resting in the right window, looking up at the left window, and surrounded by the vitality of their being. In this space, after having conquered the obstacles presented to them, our matriarch is able to pause and be present in their vulnerability, shedding the parts that constitute their role to just exist, to rest, already anticipating the future need of her presence back at the home. The multiple viewfinders, in this case, serve as magnifying glasses showing our live remoulding of the domestic space and its inhabitants.

Latin America, with all its convolutes, stands concrete in its familial roles of the household. But to what extent can we subvert them? Pre-colonial representations of fertility inflate the physicality of the matriarch, which strips such a complex role down to only its physical qualities.

What then happens is that the individual is removed from the narrative. How can we translate this notion into a more contemporary stance?

Our aim with the design is to create spaces worth questioning. Merging our varied practices and paradigms, we reflect the resourcefulness and creativity of our culture - by challenging the act of painting.

We distance ourselves from a common narrative of struggle and choose instead to celebrate the matriarch as not only the source of life but as an individual; imperfect, vulnerable and resilient.

The Matriarch is not just a body and struggle, she has a complex existence, often caged, but more so the source of life.

University of the Arts London LatinX Society Team Members

Collaborator Artist: Jessica Panchi Pacheco

Collaborator Artist: Jessica Panchi Pacheco

Collaborator Artist: Jessica Panchi Pacheco

Collaborator Artist: Jessica Panchi Pacheco

Collaborator Artist: Jessica Panchi Pacheco

Collaborator Artist: Jessica Panchi Pacheco

Collaborator Artist: Jessica Panchi Pacheco

Collaborator Artist: Anna Senger

Collaborator Artist: Jessica Panchi Pacheco

Collaborator Artist: Sarita Acosta Vargas

Collaborator Artist: Sarita Acosta Vargas

Collaborator Artist: Karen Salcedo