Eli Farinango

Photographer and Visual Storyteller

www.elifarinango.com

Wilkay

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Location: NYC & Hamilton, Canada

Nationality: Canadian

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... MORE

Self portrait with a memory of my childhood home. March 3, 2021

Ceremonial hands. Double exposu...s, Ecuador - February 2, 2018.

Ceremonial hands. Double exposure of my hands and a candle ceremony. During sleepless nights and the desire to remember who I was before I was being abused by my ex-partner seeped through the ceremonies I began to remember. By the water I found two rocks, held them in my hand, gifted one to my altar and kept one with me. For protection. Atacames, Ecuador - February 2, 2018.

Unravelling of the trauma body....ethlehem, PA. October 15, 2021

Unravelling of the trauma body. I unravel my story by sharing it. Each knot in my lineage makes itself known in my physical body and it is almost a need that I have to unravel, I let myself be. Cada hilito de mi faja se va zafando y voy entendiendo cada historia tras el tejido. The red thread is used to tie our hair, to put on our alpargates, to make bracelets for protection. The colour is a color that corresponds to the flowers that grow in the mountains, to my blood. To me it is a symbol of memory that travels through time and space in our textiles. That string, that hilito que se va zafando y me muestra historias que necesitan ser contadas. Monocacy Creek, Bethlehem, PA. October 15, 2021

Self portrait. May 4, 2020.

the moon that never abandons me. August 22, 2020

my mom always keeps a plate of ...ilton, Ontario. April 22, 2020

my mom always keeps a plate of corn on the kitchen table as a reminder of our life sustinance. Hamilton, Ontario. April 22, 2020

Feelings of being trapped in my...milton, Canada - March 4, 2021

Feelings of being trapped in my own body, in my anaco. The "anaco" is the traditional clothes women wear in my community. For many Kichwa migrants the relationship that we have with our traditional clothes changes for various reasons. In my case, wearing the anaco has always been a political choice and an ever changing conversation about what it means to wear it and how I feel while wearing it. Sometimes it feels like a gift, and sometimes it feels heavy. Many times people who are fascinated by "a real life indigenous person" forget the personal boundaries that they would otherwise uphold if I was wearing jeans, touching my body without consent, taking pictures without consent, and the exotifying questions that leave my spirit that much heavier. On the other hand, wearing it also brings me pride as I know my ancestors would feel happy to see me carrying our culture forward. Wearing it is a way of honoring the matriarchs in my family and their fight so we don't forget who we are and where we come from. Wearing the anaco is always a complicated conversation with all parts of myself. Hamilton, Canada - March 4, 2021

Virginia Anrango - my mom has b...milton, Canada. March 23, 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 keep going, be resilient and find our grounding in our culture. Hamilton, Canada. March 23, 2021

Mama Chumbi. In the Kichwa cult...on, Canada - August 29, 2021 -

Mama Chumbi. In the Kichwa culture, the chumbi is a traditional woven belt that is worn with our traditional clothes, the anaco. My grandma taught me that by wearing the chumbi I protect my womb from bad energies. Photographed is my childhood chumbi placed on the shore of Lake Ontario, my mom brought this piece of my history with her when we migrated to Canada. Hamilton, Canada - August 29, 2021 -

In camera double exposure of my...on, Canada - Februay 23, 2020.

In camera double exposure of my father at 23 in his first trip to Italy and in 2020 in Hamilton, Canada. Hamilton, Canada - Februay 23, 2020.

Family portrait - Many people d...ton, Canada - March 23, 2021 -

Family portrait - Many people don’t really think about the privilege it is to have family portraits. For many folks who migrate, family memories get torn between two territories. I learned photography for two reasons 1) to help my mom take pictures of her crafts for the craft shows she applied to 2) to make sure my sisters know what they looked like when they were little. Photographed is an archive image of my dad, Alonso Farinango (L) an archive photograph of my parents and images of my younger sister Saywa. Hamilton, Canada - March 23, 2021 -

Otavalo, Ecuador - June 27, 202...and defend it when we need to.

Otavalo, Ecuador - June 27, 2021 - Azul - Our responsibility as Mindalaes or travelling merchants is to make sure that wherever we are our traditions never die, that we share our culture and defend it when we need to.

Hamilton, Canada - May 4, 2021 ...how much pachamamita loves me.

Hamilton, Canada - May 4, 2021 - The dreamer. Being able to hold myself and ground myself through the teachings of my grandmother, through the land is a gift. As I struggled to stay alive I had a dream where I went to Uku Pacha, the “underground”. It was cold and damp but I belonged there. I rested, I lived in my death. When I woke up I realized it wasn't a dream but rather a vision of an image I needed to create to remind myself of how much pachamamita loves me.

My first memories of Canada are...n, Canada - February 13, 2021.

My first memories of Canada are of the snow. As I began to explore my connection to a territory that exists in my memory the snow brought me back to my childhood self. That child who dreamt in Spanish, spoke in English and hoped in Kichwa. Hamilton, Canada - February 13, 2021.

Ottawa, Canada. July 25, 2020. ...ations that bring us together.

Ottawa, Canada. July 25, 2020. In camera double exposure of my cousin Nina's birthday in Ecuador, exposed with her kitchen table in Ottawa, Canada. For many indigenous migrants our culture and history is erased from the mainstream. We are often mis-identified as Latino/Latinx, erasing the fact that many indigenous communities existed before the Spanish invasion and the conceptualisation of the nation-state. For many of us, our culture and history is kept alive through the stories we tell, in our family albums, in the foods we eat, in the music we listen to and in the yearly celebrations that bring us together.

PLAY

STOP

GRID

FULL

LOVE

Thumbnail of Self portrait with a memory of my childhood home. March 3, 2021

Thumbnail of Ceremonial hands. Double exposur_es, Ecuador - February 2, 2018.

Thumbnail of Unravelling of the trauma body. _Bethlehem, PA. October 15, 2021

Thumbnail of Self portrait. May 4, 2020.

Thumbnail of the moon that never abandons me. August 22, 2020

Thumbnail of my mom always keeps a plate of c_milton, Ontario. April 22, 2020

Thumbnail of Feelings of being trapped in my _amilton, Canada - March 4, 2021

Thumbnail of Virginia Anrango - my mom has be_amilton, Canada. March 23, 2021

Thumbnail of Mama Chumbi. In the Kichwa cultu_ton, Canada - August 29, 2021 -

Thumbnail of In camera double exposure of my _ton, Canada - Februay 23, 2020.

Thumbnail of Family portrait - Many people do_lton, Canada - March 23, 2021 -

Thumbnail of Otavalo, Ecuador - June 27, 2021_ and defend it when we need to.

Thumbnail of Hamilton, Canada - May 4, 2021 -_ how much pachamamita loves me.

Thumbnail of My first memories of Canada are _on, Canada - February 13, 2021.

Thumbnail of Ottawa, Canada. July 25, 2020. I_rations that bring us together.

Private Story

Wilkay

Copyright Eli Farinango 2024

Updated Nov 2021

Topics Photography

wilkay is my personal narrative that speaks on the resiliency of the heart and spirit. This body of work is a ceremonial experience that weaves in my own spiritual practice, ancestral memory and my search for emotional sovereignty beyond the harmful legacy that colonialism and the patriarchy has placed on bodies like mine. Wilkay is a reminder of the resilience that lives within us and a reminder of the power that our ancestors have left us

Eli Farinango

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