Hi Rita!

Congratulations on being shortlisted
for the Cluster Jewellery Residency 2021

How would you introduce yourself to the Cluster readers?

 I’m a Latin American woman, jewellery artist and mother.
I’m intense, without limits, a bit of a workaholic, inspiring and obsessed with details. I’m quite chatty although I much prefer to listen
to other people’s stories and I’m in a constant dialogue with my monsters and my passions; also in love with dreams, my roots and Chilean wine.

How did you get here on your creative journey?

In 2002 I became an industrial designer and a mother, and so began
my journey in jewellery. I’d say that my love for jewellery has been
my most enduring relationship! Over the last eight years I found myself
and discovered a very personal world that allowed me to uncover
all these textile beings and creatures that I had buried inside of me.
It’s taken a lot of learning, studying technique, language, constant work, time and love. Nothing was ever planned or under my control!

Tell us about the work you submitted…

It’s a selection from various series that I developed with a common thread. The main ingredients are the body and memory; accompanied
by a pinch of provocation, vindication, loss, resilience, dreams, ancestry, abandonment, sadness, anger, desire, friendship, joy and love.
This seems like a lot  emotions, but in my part of the  world they
can be felt intensely and easily in a short period of time.

How would you describe your creative style
and way of working?

 I think it is closely linked to research on language and communication; how we express ourselves, rediscovering the value of our own voice.
I investigate techniques and make them my own through my travels, stories and experiences. In my work I weave micro basketry
with horsehair; the weaving is a visual mantra, a process
of self-knowledge, slow and healing. As a weaver you form a link
with the textures, generating a tactile dialogue that brings up many questions. It’s a kind of deep sensory, synaesthetic experimentation.
My process is labour intensive and occurs through
a dialogue between materiality and technique.

Social media and you: the good, the bad and the ugly.
Tell us all…

Social networks today are like an addiction. The good is that they connect us, we can meet people, show the world that we are here
as women, mothers and creators. The bad is that we cannot leave
them alone. They generate dependency and if we don’t post on a daily basis we feel like the world will forget about us. Equally, if someone doesn’t post regularly you worry that something must have happened
to them. Real life connections happen less and less in an age
of pandemics. The magic and the mystery have got a bit lost. If one day this digital space is taken away from us we’d all end up in therapy
with withdrawal symptoms. How sad.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

 I am a nocturnal being; I love the night time so I prefer to go to bed
at dawn and sleep for seven hours. This way I can get a good breakfast and some conversation before bed. However, on days of creative anxiety I fly straight to the workshop and sleep little.

Who are your idols?

There’s writers who have been with me since childhood such as
Gabriel García Márquez and Julio Cortázar; Pedro Lemebel,
Rita Segato. In terms of painting undoubtedly Frida Kahlo and Roberto Matta. In music Nina Simone, Violeta Parra and Pedro Aznar.
And for Jewellery my dear friend Jorge Manilla, Tone Vigeland
and Otto Künzli.

Tips, tricks and secrets for making it in the art world?

I don’t like success. I don’t know how it is achieved. I’m not a successful person nor do I expect to be. If I think that you are established
in the art world only when there is intense and constant work.
I’m talking about the time you dedicate to it, the passion and sincerity. This allows your work to fly; to reach more people and transcend boundaries. The magic is in the action. It’s unique, genuine, powerful.
Just get your voice out.