Artist: SILIVIA PIZA-TANDLICH
Country: COSTA RICA
Title: El diablo
Size: 54 x 40 cm
Technique: hand embroidery, appliqué, and quilting; 100% antique linen, 100% linen (140 Fd./35 ct.), paper, batting, Boruka wooden arrow
Year: 2014
Biography:

Linen was brought to Costa Rica during the Spanish conquest, and when I was a child I was watching my mother embroidering her tablecloths and napkins. She would give me remnants to entertain myself while she embroidered and I was making dolls and puppets – one of which was the devil ("El diablo"), a mask used in the Boruka indigenous culture – all made of imported linen. Thus, the present artwork represents my childhood memories as well as the mestizo tradition still in existence: "El diablo", which in my case is made of unfinished linen napkins from 55 years ago.

 

Silvia Piza-Tandlich was born in Costa Rica in 1954 and graduated from the University of Costa Rica. "Manualism" is her coined term to describe an attitude in her handmade textile creation, with roots in environmental and social responsibility. Presently, Silvia's gallery – Galería Octágono – provides several women and their families with educational and financial opportunities. She has participated in several important biennials in various countries, including: the 14th International Triennial of Tapestry in Łódź, Poland, in 2013; the 4^th (Costa Rica) and 6^th (Mexico) WTA International Biennial of Textile Art & Design; and the 2^nd CONTEXTILE Biennial in Portugal.

Motto: It is fun to look back and see the past within the perspective of our present reality