‘La trato como reina [I treat her like a queen]’: an exploration of the role of hand-embroidered artworks as an active communication tool to raise awareness of the high levels of violence against women in Chile

Abstract

The aim of this practice-based doctoral research is to explore the role that my hand- embroidered artworks might play in actively communicating with non-specialist audiences about the high levels of violence against women in Chile. As a practitioner, I wanted to leave the safe space of the art galleries and collaborate with diverse audiences to stimulate awareness of the prevalence of the patriarchal system in Chile and, when relevant, Latin America. Textile art and political activism are central to my thinking, especially the arpilleras that contested the Chilean dictatorship (1973–1990) and the exploration of participatory research through textile art. The key methodologies that framed my research were autoethnography, Latin American feminism and arts-based research.

The methods for gathering the data to inform my work included three separate phases of fieldwork in Chile. In the first phase, I had access to domestic violence cases in courthouses in Chile. For the second phase of fieldwork, I installed one of my artworks in a vacant lot of land to directly associate my works with a potentially dangerous place for women in Chile. For the final phase, I used participatory textile research as a vehicle to approach a Chilean audience, which because of the Covid-19 pandemic was reached through a video- presentation of my artworks and a subsequent online survey.

This research contributes to deepening the connection between social and textile art with audiences in Chile by encouraging their collaboration; furthermore, it contributes to the growing need for a body of work which identifies new ways to promote a more equal, tolerant and respectful society.