Eli Farinango: Diaspora

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"Alli Yachishpa," 2020, Digital Print on Fine Art

About the artwork:

In the Kichwa tradition we use our chumbis (woven belts) to bring healing to our bodies, the red signifies the blood that brought us to this life and the blood that has been shed for us to still exist. The carnations are used in ceremonies during our most important festivities and lately the eucalyptus has played an important part in my worldview. 

This piece brings together these elements to signify the transition of time and the need to continuously heal myself with elements handed down to me by my lineage. In this long exposure are the hands of my mother, sister and myself as we shared a moment of creation.  This is an offering to my relatives who walk through this territory in search for healing, connection and reconciliation. 

About the artist:

Eli Farinango is a Kichwa photographer. She was born in Quito, Ecuador and raised in Ottawa, Canada. She holds an Honours BA in Political Science and Latin American Studies from the University of Toronto. She has extensive experience working in the non-profit sector and in media communications. She has been published in various publications including Remezcla, Waging Nonviolence, Telesur English. In 2019, she was awarded the first prize in the individual category in the international photography contest by Fotografas Latinoamericanas, shortlisted for the Lucie Foundation Emerging artist scholarship, selected to be a Women Photograph mentee. In the same year, she attended the Banff Centre for the Arts to participate in Trainings for the Not Yet residency. She was also selected by fototazo, a curatorial project highlighting emerging Latin American photographers where she showed her work Jatarishun, a personal documentation of community resistance in the Ecuadorian uprising in 2019.In 2020, she attended the Banff Centre for the Arts to complete the Indigenous Media Arts training where she began developing the long term project Runa Kawsay, which documents the indigenous diaspora in North America.  Earlier this year, she was selected to be part of the Garden Project, facilitated by Industry Theater where she developed a multimedia performance piece exploring identity and migration Mama Chumbi. She is currently enrolled in the Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism Program at the International Centre of Photography.  She is currently based in Haudenosaunee territory. 

About the curator:

Diaspora in Diaspora قربت در غربت is an online/on paper publication. Their work can be viewed at instagram.com/diaspora.in.diaspora.

window is located on Treaty 1 Territory, the original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. Window is co-curated by Noor Bhangu, Mariana Muñoz Gomez, and Sarah Nesbitt.