A SHIPIBO-KONIBO ARTIST IN A PERUVIAN MUSEUM: ECOFEMINISM AND DEEP ECOLOGY
The Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), in collaboration with the Shipibo Conibo Center in New York and with the support of proyectoamil in Lima and White Cube gallery in London, presented the exhibition Sara Flores. Non Nete, the first solo show of the renowned Shipibo-Konibo artist in a Peruvian museum.
"Non Nete," which in Shipibo-Konibo literally means "our world," is the central concept guiding this exhibition. More than a geographical delineation of ancestral territory, this notion conveys the interdependence of all life forms—animals, plants, and both human and non-human beings—as well as the interconnectedness of different realms, such as the world of water and the world of ideals. It also has a temporal dimension, meaning “our day” and evoking cycles of rebirth and new beginnings, with an optimistic perspective toward a just and sustainable future.
Sara Flores’ kené work is distinguished by her use of tocuyo (a traditional cotton fabric) and natural dyes to create labyrinthine patterns that represent neural, spiritual, and ecological networks. These compositions visualize a profound bond with the environment and the ecodependence inherent to indigenous identity, a connection that takes on a sense of urgency in the face of the threats facing the Amazon.
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Fotografía de Sara Flores. Helena De Bragança ©2023 y la cortesía Shipibo-Conibo Center, NY (MALI)
In this exhibition, Flores presents a Shipibo Nation Flag, which embodies principles of ecofeminism and deep ecology, proposing a feminine and relational approach to sovereignty that radically contrasts with the emblems of conquest.
Sara Flores. Non Nete is an invitation to reflect on the regeneration of a world profoundly altered by climate change, extractivism, and systemic violence. Through her art, Flores guides us toward an indigenous cosmology that aspires to collective well-being and harmony across all aspects of life.
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Sara Flores (Tambomayo, 1950). Estudio para la bandera de la Nación Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo (Maya Punté Kené) 7, 2024. Tintes naturales sobre tela, 121 x 143,5 cm. Cortesía de la artista y del Shipibo Conibo Center, Nueva York
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Sara Flores (Tambomayo, 1950). Estudio para la bandera de la Nación Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo (Maya Punté Kené) 4, 2024. Tintes naturales sobre tela, 119 x 139 cm. Cortesía de la artista y del Shipibo Conibo Center, Nueva York
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Imagen del video: Sara Flores (Tambomayo, 1950). Non nete (Una bandera para la Nación Shipibo), 2025. Video monocanal, 3:33 minutos, color, sonido, en bucle. Producido por The Shipibo-Conibo Center, NY
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Helena De Bragança ©2023 y la cortesía Shipibo-Conibo Center, NY
Sara Flores is one of the foremost contemporary artists emerging from the Amazonian basin. Born in 1950 in the native community of Tambomayo in the Peruvian Amazon, she was trained in the arts of kené by her mother. Masterfully balancing the constraints of ancestral style with a cultural imperative for personal innovation, Sara Flores has propelled the medium forward in the most significant leap since the 1950’s.
Her work has been exhibited internationally in leading galleries and museums and is part of major institutional collections worldwide, such as the Museo de Arte de Lima - MALI, Peru; The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Al Thani Collection, London and Paris; Christian Dior Foundation, Paris; JP Morgan Chase Art Collection, New York; and Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, Netherlands, among others.
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