I am happy to announce that I will be exhibiting 10 photos of Q'eros children at the Museo Del Arte Contemporaneo Del Cusco as part of a larger exhibit featuring paintings and digital prints by Peruvian artist Martha Morales Polar who's theme is children.
My exhibit is called Q'eros - Children In The Middle
The Q'eros believe they are the direct bloodline descendants of the Inka. It was in the late 1950's when a group of explorers headed by Anthropologist Oscar Nunez Del Prado went high up into the Andes to meet with the community for the first time. They found that many of the Q'eros lived at altitudes that exceeded 14,000 feet. Their homes were primitive stone huts, had dirt floors and grass thatched roofs. They claimed then and today that their shamanic ways are derived from the same practices of the Inka and tap into universal energy. This energy work is said to heal sickness, predict the future and manipulate their environment. Up until the middle of the 20th century, prior to frequent contact with the outside world they were able to live in harmony with Mother Nature through a reciprocity based system of exchange called Ayni. Now, while still one of the most remote communities on earth, the Q'ero are integrating with the outside world. A number of communities have radio towers. The 3-meter wide dirt road from Paucartambo winds up through the steep rocky mountain landscape, across dozens of waterfalls during the rainy season and will reach Chua Chua an annex of Q'eros this year. Many of the Paqo's from the Q'eros nation teach their ritual, ceremony and spiritual heritage to westerners throughout the Cusco region - and to do so they use cell phones.
What does this integration mean for the children? With one foot in the past and the other in the future these children are exposed to two worlds. And with that exposure to western ways comes new forms of learning, different subjects and a rapidly changing landscape at home as the community develops. Western societies impact with indigenous cultures in the past has mostly lead to a deterioration of traditional ways, loss of language, ritual and community. Will Q'eros be any different?This exhibition of photos of Q'eros children in their home land were taken in 2011 and 2012 and attempts to visually demonstrate some of the contrasts between the Q'eros of the past and that of today.
Each limited edition print sells for between $80-$120 and they are approximately 10" x 8". Only 7 of each photo will be printed and sold. Each print will be signed and numbered.
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