Biography:
Eli Farinango is a Kichwa artist and visual storyteller, born in Kichwa territory (Quito, Ecuador) and raised in Algonquin territory (Ottawa, Canada). Through her lens she explores the vastness and beauty of the healing journey while making...
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Focus:Photographer, Environment, History, Documentary, Humanitarian, Visual Communications , Human Rights, Artist, Storyteller, Visual Artist, History and Culture Desk, Community
Yana means darkness or black in Kichwa. I have always used the word “darkness” as a metaphor to describe the depression that I have carried with me since I can remember. Being in the darkness means being disconnected from myself, from my family, from the elements. As the pandemic forced us to stay inside, I started to redefine what being in the darkness meant to me, somehow I remembered the ceremonies that my grandmother showed me. I remembered that the water is healing and then the darkness meant survival, meant discovery, perhaps the darkness is not so bad after all. Hamilton, Canada - March 9, 2021.
Kachi (salt) in Kichwa culture salt is used as an offering in celebrations and in ceremonies, in our home in Hamilton, it blends with the everyday. Runa Kawsay is the beauty and ceremonial in everyday things. Hamilton, Canada - February 9, 2021.
Virginia Anrango - my mom has been an entrepreneur for the past 30 years, working at festivals, fairs and events selling the crafts she imports from Ecuador. The pandemic forced her work to shut down and the uncertainty was met with her resilience. She wore our traditional clothes every single day to make herself feel better, to feel in control, to feel powerful. My sister and I watched my mom as she empowered herself as her whole life changed. Towards the start of the winter, she enrolled in online classes to finish her high school degree. She always taught us to find our grounding in our culture. Hamilton, Canada - March 23, 2021 -
Projection of my great grandmother's picture on my debajero - a part of my traditional clothes - growing up away from my traditions sometimes means having a complicated relationship with my traditional clothes, my anaco. She is a reminder of why I continue to wear my traditional clothes. I do it as an homage to her, to my other ancestras, to my mother, to my future children. I hold it as a sacred connection to all those who fought for me to walk as a proud Kichwa woman.
For full series please contact: elifarinangovisuals@gmail.com
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Private Story
Wilkay : Altar
Copyright
Eli Farinango
2024
Updated Nov 2021
Topics
Diaspora, Fine Art, Identity, Indigenous, Migration, Photography, Runa kawsay