London

Silvia Umpierrez

Multimedia sculptor | Montevideo, Uruguay

Rethinking the fabric of tapestries

Silvia's tapestry making engages with various materials
Her work rescues the memories and traditions of her ancestors
The Uruguayan landscape is a source of inspiration for her

Silvia Umpierrez began her training in the 1980s with several artists such as José Cardozo, Doreen Bayley, and the Polish artist Antoni Starczewski. "When I was young, I liked to visit exhibitions: I went into museums, galleries, and looked at everything," she says. It all began in 1980 with a visit to Maestro Cardozo's workshop. "In 1982 Cardozo proposed that I become his weaver. At that time, tapestries were exported to Japan. I remember working in the mornings and weaving in his workshop in the afternoons," recounts Silvia. The first tapestry piece she produced was hand-spun from cotton thread. She submitted it to the Tapestry Competition at the Banco República de Uruguay in 1983. "It took me six months to complete it, and I was selected for the first prize. A great surprise," she explains.

Interview

What role does tapestry making play for you?: Contemporary textile practices present us with a field that condenses multiple knowledge areas, including individual, ancestral, experiential, and environmental aspects. Personally, my work is closely connected with the land, ancestral memories, nature, or found objects. I revalue what is dry, what no one sees: the old. I love restoring antique objects.
Do you have a specific way of working?: I like to work according to how I feel and what my soul needs. My workshops are spaces for self-connection, a place to explore, investigate, and connect with the material that best expresses when words fail. I go for walks, to receive what nature offers me, and then I take time to create.
How has the Uruguayan Criollo loom influenced your work?: The Criollo loom is a technique that occupies an important place in our culture, in the making of blankets and mattresses. It is an experimental loom that allows us to include different materials and textures (wools, threads, tops, fabrics). My research involves substituting wool with natural fibres, creating fabrics that can get wet.
What is the relationship between your personality and your work?: I consider myself an inquisitive woman, with a great interest in nature, the environment, and relationships. I create bonds that nourish my daily life. My woven pieces transmit my states of mind. They are my grounding, connecting me with my vital energy.

Silvia Umpierrez is a master artisan: she began her career in 1980 and she started teaching in 1993