María Troncoso known as “Aguaya en Flor” is an emerging Chilean artist of the last few years. She had her beginnings in 2019 when she started exploring the world of digital collage and visual poetry. She had a deep interest in trying to produce something creative and that’s how her research began. A key person in the development of her technique was her teenage daughter, “My daughter taught me how to use digital tools to inexperienced people like me and it was like discovering a new world where I started to flow in the “creative act” of playing. ” Soon after, she started producing her first works, which were posted on the Instagram platform.
Many people may wonder what her artistic name is due to. The name “Aguaya en Flor” is not random, as her work is a poetic metaphor for women and their affective nature. The aguaya is a piece of clothing made of wool that women use as part of their clothes or to carry children on their chest or back. This name refers to the relationship of coexistence and solidarity that unites women, together with the allusion to femininity.
Her source of inspiration
In general, her inspiration comes from the indigenous world, its values, and above all its poetry, the reading of indigenous poetry. Authors such as Elicura Chihuailaf, Lionel Lienlaf, Fredy Chicangana are the ones who awakened her interest in trying to transform her words into visual poetry. Images that are able to awaken a poetic sensation that everyone can connect with. On the other hand, women are a key symbol in her works, as well as the strength of the community and its resistance. Likewise, something that stands out in her work is the presence of an infinite number of allegories towards the cosmos, nature, and its seasons. Using as a main source places of her native country, Chile.
The origin of her visual poetry
Her collages were born as an imaginary towards the indigenous culture and its poetry. Through them one can feel the values of resistance of its people. The image of ancient indigenous people are powerful elements in themselves, they remind us of the importance of memory and of the word. This is combined in the creation of the collage. They manage to transmit a genuine connection between the human being, nature and the past.
Connecting with people and nature
Currently, “Aguaya en Flor” is exploring different formats and supports for her works, although everything is very much “in progress” according to the artist’s words. These have been years full of learning about nature and her own culture. The artist says that one of the most powerful things that has happened with “Aguaya en Flor” is the connection she has created with so many different people. Not only from different parts of Chile but from all over the world. Incredible interactions with wonderful people, artisans, creators, musicians and poets. For “Aguaya en Flor” that is the most important and valuable thing that this project has given her.
If you like this artist, you may also be interested in Kurt Schwitters, Fabio Ferrone Viola, and Aurora Rabson who make collages through reuse and recycling.
