ARTIST: Máximo Laura
MATERIAL: Alpaca Wool
Máximo Laura, born from the entrails of the Wari culture, inherits the traditional style of fine ancient weavers called cumbimayocs. Both his parents and grandparents, masterweavers from Ayacucho, watched wisely and attentively over him as he practiced from childhood. With a first class trajectory and many beautiful pieces, Máximo is one of our foremost weavers. Not only has he introduced iconography of our ancient cultures into his tapestry, but has also fused fiber and design skillfully, three strategic aspects in textil art. The fiber is alpaca wool.
Each of Máximo Laura´s tapestry is impregnated with the ancestral history of the Inca empire. Each of them revives the saga of a civilization whose grandeur and wisdom the Spanish colonizers couldn´t destroy. His art has atavic roots, an obligation of honor: to preserve the memory of one of the most developed cultures of Latin America, which was decimated by foreign invaders who imposed a new social system, idiom and religion to the survivors of the massacre.
Looking at it this way, Máximo Laura´s tapestry is a project for culture resistance. A light gleaming in the tunnel of time which brings before our eyes a fascinating past, so rich in myths, symbols and technical knowledge it still amazes archaeologists, anthropologists and historians. It is not, however, just folk art. Máximo Laura reinvents the Andean iconography through the use of figures and geometrical patterns that speak of gods, celestial phenomena, universal archetypes and the integration of a civilization of unique historical expressiveness and unforgettable spiritual elevation.
Measures: 117cm x 118cm