1979, Santiago, Chile
Works and lives between Buenos Aires, Argentina & London, UK.

Catalina Swinburn’s work translate into key messages and universal concerns such as: sustainability, identity, gender equality and globalization underlining the connections of the Global South throughout history. The use of weave and vintage documents are used by her as a vital and dynamic language for raising awareness both physically and conceptually while aiming to strengthen the integration between various communities in making reference to female resilience. She pursues to rescue ancestral rituals related to sacred places, ancestral geography and original memory.

Regenerating these narratives articulates for the artist both a sense of urgency and a mode of resistance. The artwork is therefore activated by the artist’s position as both fabricator and performer of the sculpture. This could be seen as a metaphor for resistance, where woven narratives are portrayed as a substitute for the silence of women throughout history.

Textiles are eloquent expressions of women’s concern with cultural tradition and transmutation, and are recognized as fundamental to studies of gender, social identity, status, exchange and modernization. Weave, tends to demarcate a suspension of ordinary existence and are among the most visible signs of sacred space and sacred roles.

By using weaving as a metaphor for resistance, her practice brings us closer to our cultural identity and offer an alternative view of the function of art as a vehicle of consciousness by meeting various forms of knowledge; opening a dialogue between conservatism and innovation, between continuity and transmutation.