Claudio Jimenez Quispé (Peru), 2021/2022
Painted plaster sculpture in hand-carved and painted wood box.
(13 1/2" h. x 8" w. x 3" d.w/ doors closed. 16" w. with doors open).
Note: Due to their fragility we can no longer ship these retablos out of the U.S. except by special arrangement. Custom art-handler packing and shipping required. Please inquire for estimate.
Claudio posted this commentary in July, 2020:
The pandemic in Peru - an interpretation through the Retablo.
Few weeks ago, a member of my family passed away from COVID-19. We had to face a difficult situation in an unprecedented context where hospitals collapsed, we could not go out without being stopped by the police and medicine was not enought for all. It was a difficult situation but it allowed us to better understand the great magnitude of the virus in the world and its consequences in the cities, and communities of Peru.
In the 1980s and 1990s, many people left their communities in the Andes to migrate to cities in search of better opportunities for their families, such as higher incomes, better education and health for their children. Given the collapse of the public health system and the slowdown in the economy, many people have decided to return to their cities and communities in order to isolate themselves from the virus in the Andes without knowing in some cases that they are carriers of the virus.
The slowdown in the economy, strict quarantine for more than 90 days, little government support and the need to work to support the family means that many people have to work informally and hidden from the authorities.
Although history has taught me that many times at the end of the problems or crises in my country, we all stay together for brief moments and forget about those who gave their lives for us. I hope that at the end of the pandemic, all Peruvians can understand the importance of being able to work together, leave individualism in the past and that history does not repeat itself. It is a dream which I hope to see someday.
