Current Art
Arequipa Series
"The City of Sillar" is not only a tourist destination, but my maternal homeland. Arequipa has three primary mountains, The
Misti, The Chachani and The Pichu Pichu. The white city of Arequipa was built brick by brick out of its Chachani & Misti
Mountain's own volcanic rock, known as Sillar. From the Spanish colonial churches to the simple homes in the barrios, hand
carved sillar bricks have created the spaces in which the Arequipians live, dream, pray, and on which they walk. These bricks
have a layered history. A brick of sillar once part of a cathedral tower now exists as part of a family's rebuilt home. Worn down
sillar from broken buildings is cleaned and reshaped to build new homes in the countrysides like Sabandia of Arequipa. While
I have visited Arequipa multiple times as a child, a recent trip in October of 2010 inspired this current series of work.
My own history with The City involves layers of stories of three generations before me who once occupied the mansions in the
central and outskirts of the city along with those of my own in the late seventies and mid-eighties as a child. Since the 1970s,
Arequipa has expanded its barrios tremendously. However, never had I witnessed the city as I did during my last trip. I saw
constructed and unconstructed homes speak of the cultural landscape that taking one family unit and expanding it three levels
high with each growing generation. The rebar lining the skyline speaks of dreams and stories untold, of commitment and
hope. The concrete blocks speak of financial success not of financial limitation.
My interest is to share a side of Arequipa that is not typically seen. It is not only a story of the building blocks, but also how the
building is reflective of the culture of the people. It is also about how within the same set of walls, there are many untold
stories of lives had and lives being lived. There are great grandparents, and grandparents, and parents and children. Their
stories and faces breathe the life into the architecture of the city, both those noted in the known tourist images such as they
cathedrals and convents but more importantly, to me, in the barrios that appear to most as half constructed homes. It is a city
that truly is built brick by brick by its people. One of the many traditions of the naming of Arequipa says that the Inca Mayta
Cápac received a petition from his subjects to reach the valley of the Chili. They requested permission to stay in the region,
because they were amazed by the beautiful scenery and mild climate. The Inca responded, "Ari qhipay" (in Quechua: "Yes,
Here I will stay").
"The City of Sillar" is not only a tourist destination, but my maternal homeland. Arequipa has three primary mountains, The
Misti, The Chachani and The Pichu Pichu. The white city of Arequipa was built brick by brick out of its Chachani & Misti
Mountain's own volcanic rock, known as Sillar. From the Spanish colonial churches to the simple homes in the barrios, hand
carved sillar bricks have created the spaces in which the Arequipians live, dream, pray, and on which they walk. These bricks
have a layered history. A brick of sillar once part of a cathedral tower now exists as part of a family's rebuilt home. Worn down
sillar from broken buildings is cleaned and reshaped to build new homes in the countrysides like Sabandia of Arequipa. While
I have visited Arequipa multiple times as a child, a recent trip in October of 2010 inspired this current series of work.
My own history with The City involves layers of stories of three generations before me who once occupied the mansions in the
central and outskirts of the city along with those of my own in the late seventies and mid-eighties as a child. Since the 1970s,
Arequipa has expanded its barrios tremendously. However, never had I witnessed the city as I did during my last trip. I saw
constructed and unconstructed homes speak of the cultural landscape that taking one family unit and expanding it three levels
high with each growing generation. The rebar lining the skyline speaks of dreams and stories untold, of commitment and
hope. The concrete blocks speak of financial success not of financial limitation.
My interest is to share a side of Arequipa that is not typically seen. It is not only a story of the building blocks, but also how the
building is reflective of the culture of the people. It is also about how within the same set of walls, there are many untold
stories of lives had and lives being lived. There are great grandparents, and grandparents, and parents and children. Their
stories and faces breathe the life into the architecture of the city, both those noted in the known tourist images such as they
cathedrals and convents but more importantly, to me, in the barrios that appear to most as half constructed homes. It is a city
that truly is built brick by brick by its people. One of the many traditions of the naming of Arequipa says that the Inca Mayta
Cápac received a petition from his subjects to reach the valley of the Chili. They requested permission to stay in the region,
because they were amazed by the beautiful scenery and mild climate. The Inca responded, "Ari qhipay" (in Quechua: "Yes,
Here I will stay").
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