portraits of the multiverse

About the series

Portraits of the Multiverse is an ongoing visual investigation between Sadith Silvano, master of the Shipibo Konibo “Kené’’ artform and myself. Kené art illustrates the underlying vibrational makeup of the universe. This collaboration stems from a need to make the invisible visible and consists of embroidered photographs and accompanying videos.

In this work, I showcase elements of Amazonia, while Sadith reveals the immaterial energy that flows across the jungle through embroidery. The images are captured on the banks of the Shanay-Timpishka and Nanay Rivers. Currently, this area, like much of the Amazon, is undergoing mass deforestation at an alarming rate. Primary forest is being cleared to make way for farmland, resulting not only in the loss of flora and fauna but also in a cultural shift and a change in the relationship between the people of the forest and the land. In a landscape where territory and culture are inextricably linked, the disappearance of forests leads to the disappearance of the spirits and soul of the jungle. The Shipibo people of the Amazon have been representing and making this world visible for thousands of years through the “Kené” art form. Shipibo women are trained from a young age to “see” and understand “Kené.” They access this world through song and the intake of sacred plants that reveal visions of this energy. Shipibo artist Sadith Silvano makes this world visible by embroidering “Kené” onto my photographs. Each piece represents an encounter between two universes: the material and the immaterial.

In a transition from the invisible world to the visible and back to the invisible, this series develops a dialogue about the Amazonian multiverse. It is a visual encounter between two languages that capture light through different means: photography and embroidery.

The result is this series of embroidered photographs that depict the rich diversity found in the Amazon, encompassing not only biodiversity, but also the culturally rich traditions of its people and art. Each piece seeks to document the importance of this vanishing landscape, highlighting the cultural and environmental aspects of Amazonia”.