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Many years ago in France brooms were made with chilineja imported from Chile. That plant native to the south of the South American country was highly prized. The appearance of plastic marked the end of the business. In 2023, an artisan from Chiloé, Raquel Aguilar Colivoro, exhibits her works made with quilineja in the Great Ephemeral Palace, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
“The quilineja caught me,” says Chilean artisan Raquel Aguilar. She lives south of the island of Chiloé, very close to the forest. “It is an ancient forest with which I feel a connection since I was little and that goes beyond reason”, adds the Huiliche artisan who presents her work in the framework of the International Biennial of Art Crafts and Revelations Creation.
“The quilineja is a climbing plant that grows deep in the humid, cold, rainy forest, on trees that are between 100 and 200 years old,” Aguilar also explains. “It is a woody stem that reaches 14 meters in height that has wonderful, dark, deep green leaves. A white flower with six petals, its orange fruits fall and serve as food for other forest animals ”, he points out.
Raquel Aguilar’s work with the quilineja is an “absolute homage” to her ancestors. “Basketry is an ancient art that has been passed down from generation to generation until it reached me, despite barriers such as shame. That’s why for me it’s a tribute to them. My ancestors are the heroes of the tradition that I have inherited, ”she maintains.
We were also accompanied at the RFI studios in Paris by professor and visual artist Nury Gonzalez, curator of this cultural project entitled “Journey to the heart of Chilean art crafts” that includes five Chilean creators.
