Quipu Viscera

Copied Cecilia Vicuña, Quipu Viscera, 2017, version 2025, site-specific installation of dyed and unspun wool, dimensions variable, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the American Women’s History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, 2023.28A-B, © 2023, Cecilia Vicuña

Artwork Details

Title
Quipu Viscera
Artist
Date
2017, version 2025
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
dimensions variable
Copyright
© 2023, Cecilia Vicuña
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the American Women’s History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative
Mediums
Mediums Description
site-specific installation of dyed and unspun wool
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
2023.28A-B
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2023.28A-B

Artwork Description

Quipu Viscera is made of hanging strands of pink, brown, and purple unspun wool. As its title suggests, it evokes the body, specifically the female inner form. Like a living being, the wool structure is at once delicate and hearty.

The word quipu, meaning "knot," comes from the Quechua language that originated in Andean region of South America. It refers to the ancient communication system based on knotted colored strings developed in the Andes over five thousand years ago. Shortly after the Spanish colonized the region in 1532, they banned the use of quipus.

Originally from Chile, Cecilia Vicuña is interested in quipus as a form of knowledge, passed through generations of Indigenous culture. The artist has described her monumental quipus as "poems in space."