Chilean Arpilleras: Weaving Resistance

The most famous arpilleras are from Chile, which were used as a form of resistance and denouncement of the human right violations perpetrated during the Pinochet dictatorship (1973 - 1990). Their apparent joyful outlook masked the true message behind the cloth, often depicting traumatic experiences of the people (arpilleristas, mostly women) who made the arpilleras. Seemingly unimportant, yet extremely powerful in delivering a message, arpilleras were underrated by the military junta: how could this typically feminine, an-aesthetic and unpolished craft be the only subversive and openly challenging medium of resistance?

September 11, 1973 marks the beginning of seventeen years of military dictatorship that ravaged Chile and its people. General Augusto Pinochet overthrew the democratically elected socialist party of Salvador Allende in a coup d’etat. According to the military junta, this act was justified by the economic crisis and general impoverishment of the county brought by Allende’s poor political leadership. Pinochet’s military dictatorship was characterised from the start by the suppression of all political parties and engagements: persecuting and arresting political dissenters or whoever was suspected of illicit acts against the new government was the new norm. A sense of uncertainty and fear spread around the country, mostly affecting the poor living in the shantytowns of Santiago and other centres. Intellectuals, artists, writers, students and workers from all backgrounds (mostly men), were picked up from the streets, imprisoned and tortured, many of them simply disappeared (desaparecidos).

It is under these circumstances that the Pro-Paz (for peace) Committee was first funded to provide legal aid for the families of the desaparecidos. Because it stood in direct opposition to the military dictatorship, the Committee was dismantled only two years after its creation. However, the Catholic Church reorganised quickly and founded the Vicariate of Solidarity, over which Pinochet did not have any power, as it functioned within the laws of the Catholic Church of Rome. Similarly to Pro-Paz, the Vicariate provided health care, legal aid, meals and work. Additionally, it created handicraft workshops, one of which was dedicated to the making and selling of arpilleras. First founded as a way to generate a source of income, the arpillera workshops soon became social spaces, where women could be together and share their stories. The social aspect of the workshops created a support system. Women, united by their grif, were given an outlet to express their anxieties and to try to make sense of what was happening in Chile.

Form and Thematic Content

As mentioned above, arpilleras are not unique to Chile, yet what sets them apart from others is their political theme, the ones made in Santiago especially, helped form a culture of resistance. All around Chile - just like in other South American countries - arpilleras are used to depict mundane experiences and often present peaceful and pastoral sceneries. Figure 1 provides a perfect example of a typical folkloric arpillera made in Colombia. In this colourful picture we see moments of everyday life: farmers gathering their cattle or in the fields; men cooking; women working around the house etc…

The scenes of Santiago are much different in content, but do not differ in technique. As described by Betty LaDuke, there are three main techniques used on arpilleras: The flat or planar method, in which all shapes are attached to the burlap with various embroidery stitches around the edges of the figures (figure 2). Relief technique, in which we see doll-like figures being made separately to the rest of the arpillera and later are attached to it, providing a three dimensional aspect to the tapestry (figure 3a). Glue technique, in which previously-cut fabric shapes are simply glued on the arpillera and no stitches or embroidery are used (figure 4). 1

The military junta underrated both arpilleras and women, who were often encouraged to keep their traditional gender roles of daughters, mothers and wives. Yet, the abduction of husbands and sons left no choice to women but to leave their homes and find the means to survive. Women had to move from their domestic roles to the traditional male roles of providers. The workshop contributed to form this new political identity as women were given a way to earn money and to be politically active. The dictatorship forced women to engage with public life and to voice their pain and grief. Many arpilleristas did not only embroider their stories but organised protests, gaining a power that was previously unknown to them. In this culture of machismo, women used their privileged position as the “weaker” sex, to - safely and - openly challenge the military, which did not take the work done by women seriously since taking action would have been perceived as validation. 3

Today, arpilleras are known around the world for their denunciatory character and the living archive they embody. They can be described, as Jacqueline Adams writes, as solidarity art: made by people living in a state of violence and/or economic difficulty, which is distributed and bought to express solidarity to the makers and to give some financial help. Making arpilleras in communal settings also provide emotional help, an outlet for people to express their pain and dreams, to share their story with others and to ask for help in the process. Nowadays, even if the arpillera workshops are no longer active, many women continue to embroider their lives on burlap and have inspired others to use this craft to denounce injustice. The women of the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) of Brazil, use arpilleras to talk about land dispossession and the ecological crisis. A comprehensive international collection of arpilleras has been gathered by Roberta Bacic, a Chilean researcher based in Northern Ireland, who founded the online archive: Conflict Textiles.

Arpilleras are an instrument of empowerment, a language of protest and testimony, an archive of memories.

Notes

1.  LaDuke, Betty, “Chile: Embroideries of Life and Death,” The Massachusetts review 24, no. 1 (1983): 34.
2. Agosín, Marjorie, Tapestries of Hope, Threads of Love : the Arpillera Movement in Chile, 1974-1994, (Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press), 1996: 29.
3. Traini, Susan, “Unforgotten to the Unforgettable: How Arpilleras Contributed to Chilean History Informing Everyday Occupations and Social Change,” Work (Reading, Mass.) 44, no. 1 (2013): 95-96.

Bibliography

• Adams, Jacqueline. Art Against Dictatorship. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2013. https://doi.org/10.7560/743823.
• Agosín, Marjorie, and Cola. Franzen. Scraps of Life : Chilean Arpilleras : Chilean Women and the Pinochet Dictatorship. London: Zed Books, 1987.
• Agosín, Marjorie, and Celeste. Kostopulos-Cooperman. Tapestries of Hope, Threads of Love : the Arpillera Movement in Chile, 1974-1994. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1996.
• Doolan, Elizabeth. “Arpilleras and Archives: Textiles as Records of Conflict.” Curator (New York, N.Y.) 63, no. 4 (2020): 547–554.
• LaDuke, Betty. “Chile: Embroideries of Life and Death.” The Massachusetts review 24, no. 1 (1983): 33–40.
• Traini, Susan. “Unforgotten to the Unforgettable: How Arpilleras Contributed to Chilean History Informing Everyday Occupations and Social Change.” Work (Reading, Mass.) 44, no. 1 (2013): 93–96. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-2012-01568.