Sangre de Nopal / Blood of the Nopal

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Sangre de Nopal Blood of the Nopal July 21-January 12, 2025 at the Fowler at UCLA (Artists Porfirio Gutiérrez and Tanya Aguiñiga talk and weave together under a cardón cactus in a field near Gutiérrez’ hometown in Teotítlan del Valle, Oaxaca. Photo Javier Lazo Gutiérrez)

  • By Cynthia Lum

Sangre de Nopal/Blood of the Nopal features two- and three-dimensional textile works, and performance and video commissions by both artists. Aguiñiga and Gutiérrez also selected early 20th-century Oaxacan textiles and weaving instruments from the Fowler collection, which are presented in dialogue with contemporary textiles woven by Gutiérrez’s family in Teotitlán del Valle, and with embroidered and woven works by Indigenous Mixteca immigrant women farmworkers living in Santa Maria, California. This room draws reference to the LIS DXAN, temporary devotional structures layered with rugs and textiles during Holy Week celebrations in Teotitlán del Valle. It leads visitors to center of the gallery, a gathering space and hands-on interactive lab activated with conversation and collaborative work throughout the run of the exhibition.

Both Aguiñiga and Gutiérrez work with natural fibers and dyes, including cochineal First cultivated by the Zapotec peoples around 500 B.C., cochineal is derived from an insect that lives on the opuntia (prickly pear) cactus. Its chemical ingenuity, stability, and chromatic intensity changed the course of art around the world. Despite the global scale and impact of cochineal, its spiritual, medicinal, and technical origins within Indigenous Mexican communities remain little understood. Sangre de Nopal offers a case study in multi-generational innovation, acknowledging the scientific knowledge and cultural heritage embedded in the cultivation of cochineal. Sangre de Nopal/Blood of the Nopal features two- and three-dimensional textile works, and performance and video commissions by both artists. Aguiñiga and Gutiérrez also selected early

Both Aguiñiga and Gutiérrez work with natural fibers and dyes, including cochineal  First cultivated by the Zapotec peoples around 500 B.C., cochineal is derived from an insect that lives on the opuntia (prickly pear) cactus. Its chemical ingenuity, stability, and chromatic intensity changed the course of art around the world. Despite the global scale and impact of cochineal, its spiritual, medicinal, and technical origins within Indigenous Mexican communities remain little understood. Sangre de Nopal offers a case study in multi-generational innovation, acknowledging the scientific knowledge and cultural heritage embedded in the cultivation of cochineal.

Fowler Museum July 21-January 12, 2025. For more, click here.