Abstract
This artwork embodies cultural heritage by preserving and transmitting the sacred visual language of the Shipibo-Conibo people of the Peruvian Amazon. Xao Kené, created using natural dyes on wild cotton canvas, features an intricate, geometric design known as kené, a traditional system of motifs that map out spiritual, medicinal, and cosmological knowledge. Each line is a conduit of memory, connecting the artist to ancestral knowledge, the natural world, and the invisible energies that structure existence. As a collaborative work from the Centro Shipibo-Conibo, the piece asserts cultural continuity, resistance, and the right to self-representation. In preserving and renewing this visual tradition, the work becomes a powerful act of Indigenous cultural affirmation.
Citation
Flores, Sara. 2022. 'Xao Kené, Shipibo Conibo Center'. Dispossessions in the Americas. https://staging.dia.upenn.edu/en/art/APER081/
