Hyundai Commission: Cecilia Vicuña: Brain Forest Quipu
Hyundai Commission: Cecilia Vicuña: Brain Forest Quipu
Hyundai Commission: Cecilia Vicuña: Brain Forest Quipu
Hyundai Commission: Cecilia Vicuña: Brain Forest Quipu
About the Video
Cecilia Vicuña’s Brain Forest Quipu is a multi-part installation made up of sculpture, sound, music and video.
The quipu is an ancient South American recording and communication system made from knotted threads. Vicuña has been exploring and transforming the quipu in her work for over five decades.
At the centre of Brain Forest Quipu are two sculptures that hang 27 metres from the ceiling. They are woven together using a range of organic materials, including found objects, unspun wool, plant fibres, rope and cardboard to evoke the look of bleached-out trees and ghostly forms.
This is a uniquely collaborative project with Vicuña working alongside artists, activists and members of the community. Some of the items used in the sculptures have been collected from the banks of the Thames by women from local Latin American communities.
Video © LACMA
About the Program
The annual Hyundai Commission is a series of new, site-specific installations by international artists in Tate Modern’s iconic Turbine Hall. It is made possible by the long-term partnership between Tate and Hyundai Motor, now confirmed until 2036. The partnership, recently extended for another decade, was founded in 2014 with the longest initial commitment from a corporate partner in Tate’s history and encompasses support of both the Hyundai Commission and the Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational. Attracting over 19 million visitors since it began, the Hyundai Commission gives artists the chance to interpret the vast industrial space of Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, producing some of the most bold and memorable artworks of the past decade.