Elaborate Kené Patterns by Sara Flores Continue an Ancient Indigenous Tradition — Colossal

In the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, the Shipibo-Konibo people (also spelled Shipibo-Conibo) have resided around the lush Ucayali River basin for thousands of years. Their artistic expression, deeply influenced by their spiritual beliefs and natural surroundings, is sustained through the use of local resources such as clay, wild cotton, and plant-derived pigments in a traditional art form known as Kené.

At the White Cube gallery, the exhibition Akinananti showcases the artistry of Sara Flores. Her intricate patterns, crafted with organic, handcrafted inks, carry on an ancient Indigenous tradition. According to the gallery, in the Shipibo language, ‘Akinananti’ means working together with love and joy, a way of life grounded in mutual support and interconnectedness, where personal and collective well-being are intertwined with environmental harmony.

Born in the Indigenous community of Tambomayo in 1950, Flores began learning the art of Kené from her mother at the age of 14. During that era, the craft was more utilitarian, with textiles primarily serving as clothing material.

Flores’ mother imparted the aesthetic and technical foundations of the works, which include handmade dyes and complex geometric designs. She taught her “the practice known to the Shipibo as joni-ati or ‘person making,’” as noted by the gallery. Flores recalls that during this pivotal time, her mother would gather ipobekené leaves and gently press them onto her eyelids so she could better envision the designs.

Over the years, Flores transitioned to creating independent artworks, some of which extend several feet and are displayed like paintings. According to Charles Darwent, who wrote an essay for Akinananti, Flores was 75 when she received her first exhibition at MALI, the Museo de Arte de Lima. This milestone was significant as “folk art is not coming to this museum, ever,” a curator had exclaimed twenty years earlier. Her exhibition, Non Nete, was the museum’s first featuring an Indigenous artist in its seventy-year history.

Flores now collaborates with her daughters on these pieces, passing down the technical expertise and philosophy of Kené. Together, they source materials from the Amazon, such as bark, leaves, and wild berries. This artistic practice, characterized by its meditative designs and meticulous media application, extends beyond the physical artwork to embody Shipibo-Konibo cosmology and lifestyle.

Akinananti is on display until August 14 in New York City. This exhibition aligns with Flores’ show De otros mundos (From Other Worlds) at the Peru Pavilion during the 61st Venice Biennale, running until November 22, marking the first instance of an Indigenous artist representing the country at the event.