JAVIER PUUNAWE
Javier Puunawe( b. 1981, Alto Orinoco, Venezuela) is an Indigenous Yanomami from the Koshekapuei community. His family is from Hapokashita, a village on the banks of the Orinoco River whose name derives from a type of clay( hapoka shii) used as raw material for pottery.
Puunawe honors the tradition and knowledge of his ancestors while drawing as well on the memories of his immediate family. He has single-mindedly embarked on an autodidactic utopian endeavor to revive the sole surviving traditional form of Yanomami ceramics: the hapoka, or clay pot, which fell into disuse after the introduction of metal pots and pans. Puunawe’ s vessels are not made to be used; they are bold and original statements of the form of the traditional Yanomami hapoka, highlighting its volume and the designs applied to its red firedclay surface. His unmistakable work marries a free style with a strong sense of heritage steeped in Yanomami culture.
His works have been featured in the collective exhibition Hashimi. A treinta años de la masacre( Hashimi. The massacre thirty years on)( ABRA, Caracas, 2023) and the solo show Hapoka( Sala TAC, Caracas, 2023).( LUIS ROMERO)
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