Friday, August 2, 2024

A name!

Wambustrik, mourning. 20x10 inches, oil, 2024.
"Méditation de Wambustrik sur la tombe de son fils, mort il y a peu de temps." [Caption of photo 7 by Pierre Allard and Philippe Luzuy, Visages de Bronze. Ides et Calendes Neuchatel, 1960] There's a name, finally, to one of the figures portrayed in Visages de Bronze. When I last painted him, almost two years ago, he was just a "Shuar man." The book has been the main source of illustrating those songs that were recorded by Allard and Luzuy during the same expedition in 1960, and that appeared on Jivaro: Indiens Shuar, Cayapa, Otavalo. I do not know if Wambustrik is heard on the recordings, but there is a certain synchronicity between photos and sounds.