In the works of the series Aleaciones con memoria de forma, Garrido-Lecca uses different forms of industrialised copper to create handmade patterned structures and textiles. By disassociating the material from its contemporary use as an electric conductor, the work attempts to return copper to the artisanal practices and cultural manifestations of earlier times. The warmth that characterises the handicraft work of the textiles clashes with the industrial nature of the material, projecting itself in the tense history of colonialism/extractivism. The use of copper wire as raw material to discuss traditional forms of work suggests a re-appropriation of natural resources, away from industrialisation and acquiring a symbolic dimension. The physical properties of copper, from its conductivity and malleability to its ability to form a “shape memory alloy” (a metal that returns to its original form when exposed to certain conditions) are poetically linked to cultural memory.

Ximena Garrido-Lecca (1980) lives and works between Mexico City and Lima. Her solo exhibitions include: 34th Sao Paulo Bienal; Orange County Museum of Arts (California); and MALBA (Buenos Aires), among others. She has participated in collective exhibitions such as: “Cosmopolis”, Centre Pompidou (Chengdu); Museum of Contemporary Art, MOCAD (Detroit); among others. Garrido-Lecca’s work can be found in collections such as Tate Modern (London); Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, MIMA (Middlesbrough); Kadist Foundation (Paris); Saatchi & Saatchi Art Collection (UK) and Museo de Arte de Lima (Peru).

In the works of the series Aleaciones con memoria de forma, Garrido-Lecca uses different forms of industrialised copper to create handmade patterned structures and textiles. By disassociating the material from its contemporary use as an electric conductor, the work attempts to return copper to the artisanal practices and cultural manifestations of earlier times. The warmth that characterises the handicraft work of the textiles clashes with the industrial nature of the material, projecting itself in the tense history of colonialism/extractivism. The use of copper wire as raw material to discuss traditional forms of work suggests a re-appropriation of natural resources, away from industrialisation and acquiring a symbolic dimension. The physical properties of copper, from its conductivity and malleability to its ability to form a “shape memory alloy” (a metal that returns to its original form when exposed to certain conditions) are poetically linked to cultural memory.

Ximena Garrido-Lecca (1980) lives and works between Mexico City and Lima. Her solo exhibitions include: 34th Sao Paulo Bienal; Orange County Museum of Arts (California); and MALBA (Buenos Aires), among others. She has participated in collective exhibitions such as: “Cosmopolis”, Centre Pompidou (Chengdu); Museum of Contemporary Art, MOCAD (Detroit); among others. Garrido-Lecca’s work can be found in collections such as Tate Modern (London); Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, MIMA (Middlesbrough); Kadist Foundation (Paris); Saatchi & Saatchi Art Collection (UK) and Museo de Arte de Lima (Peru).