"Aires Zapotecos"

This tapestry, designed and woven by Erasto (Tito) Mendoza, is a finalist in the VI International Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art in the AIR large format category. The piece was woven with wool, silk, cotton, and feathers on a cotton warp.
The selected finalists´ textiles will be on display at The Diego Rivera Anahuacalli Museum in Mexico City from May 26 to July 22, 2011.

For more info about the Biennial, follow this link:
http://www.wta-online.org/ING/







Tito explains his piece in this way:
In the Zapotec community of Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, where I was born, we have two principal sources of income: agriculture and weaving. It is a tradition never to leave a rug unfinished before starting another activity. We only break with this tradition when the strong winds arrive that announce the harvest. Then we all head to the fields with the swirling winds under darkened skies.There we remain until the end of the harvest season, leaving behind only the ever-present feathers—from where they come, we’re not sure.
This tapestry represents the day when weaving and harvesting competes for power. The wind assails us in the fields, hindering the harvest and unraveling the threads of our weavings.