Reverse Migration, a Poetic Journey
IMMA, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, presents Reverse Migration, a Poetic Journey, the first solo exhibition in Ireland by internationally renowned artist, poet, and activist Cecilia Vicuña (b. 1948, Santiago de Chile). This major survey of Vicuña’s practice features numerous new paintings and new commissions. Emerging from Vicuña’s discovery of her ancestral ties to Ireland, the exhibition is a monumental meditation on survival and interconnectedness amid global ecological and political upheaval.
Vicuña’s multidisciplinary practice bridges visual art, poetry, sound, and performance. Born and raised in Santiago de Chile, Vicuña has been in exile since the early 1970s, following the 1973 military coup against Chilean president Salvador Allende; and her career is characterised by a drive to preserve and pay tribute to the indigenous history and culture of Chile. Reverse Migration, a Poetic Journey is inspired by a visit to Ireland which she made in 2006 with her partner, poet James O’Hern, following Vicuña’s discovery of her genetic ties to the country, during which they honoured various archaeological sites with rituals of gratitude. This ancestral connection to Ireland is a narrative thread within the exhibition, which intertwines personal memory with indigenous traditions and a dialogue with Irish heritage.
Works on display span the breadth of Vicuña’s career, with an early section of the exhibition featuring documentation of her early activism, performance and film works.
The exhibition includes significant examples of Vicuña’s precarios and quipus, two ongoing bodies of work since the 1960s, which have their origins in ancient Andean traditions. Central to the exhibition at IMMA is a site-specific quipu Aran Quipu - an ancient Andean system of record-keeping using knotted cords. Created with the participation of local makers, and made using Irish wool, the commission is a reference to the history of the Aran sweater, thought to be symbolic of nature and the sea, as well as of the lives of Irish fishermen and Aran Islanders, for Vicuña the piece is a meditation on the rising sea levels, resilience and loss. The work transforms the motif of the ancient quipu into a vessel for contemporary ecological and political discourse, suggesting the urgent need for collective action in the face of climate crisis.
Vicuña’s new composition Mourning Dialog explores sound as a binding thread between people, nature and histories, mirroring the themes of interconnection and fragility found throughout her practice. Her soundscapes resonates with her visual works, co-joining chanting with the call of the Curlew creating an immersive experience that traverse cultural and temporal boundaries.
Through her innovative synthesis of visual art, sound, and poetry, Vicuña offers a deeply moving reflection on the interwoven histories of humanity and nature. Reverse Migration, a Poetic Journey challenges us to listen to silenced voices, honour ancient wisdom, and reimagine our relationship with the earth in a time of urgent transformation.
To mark the exhibition a new artists’ book titled Mapping the Silence by Vicuña and James O’Hern, is co-published by IMMA and Distance No Object and edited by Luke Roberts and Amy Tobin. A new IMMA Art Edition, titled Mother’s Shadow, is also available. The book and edition are available from the IMMA Shop.
The exhibition is curated by Mary Cremin, Head of Programming at IMMA. The early section of the exhibition, featuring documentation of Vicuña's early work, is curated by Miguel A. López.
