I have equipped myself with in-depth studies in artistic expression, philosophy and anthropology. And with these tools I weave the stories of a people into history for posterity. This is how I make things that don’t sell even if I would have wanted to sell them. No one wants such collective Karmic representations on the living room walls. But museums love such things because they bring in revenue…through projects and programs.
Her choice of materials regards decolonization. She exchanges brightly colored acrylic paint for natural earthy hues derived exclusively from organic products; with coffee being particularly important. She also uses turmeric, bluing, charcoal, bee wax, ‘pimba’, strips of black cotton, rusty nails, and wire. A new path in her artistic career that may have come from her speaking from an ayllu for historical, cultural, and symbolic significance.
The works articulate possibilities for moving beyond the modern/colonial order, offering us an opportunity to think beyond our own binary brains and consider the healing nuances of the in-between.
“A lot of people think I go to the streets to sort through garbage for my creative supplies but that’s not what happens. I noticed that people say this, especially in media because they want to use poverty as an overarching theme to rack in audiences.”
Gateja’s work is also very reminiscent of traditional African craftworks like basket and mat weaving. It must be a conscious choice for a goldsmith like himself who trained in Europe and comes back to search and discover better gold in traditional techniques that his forefathers perfected a long time ago. It is his way of keeping these practices alive but also adding his own spin to the magic.