Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín: Umbilical Cord

Umbilical Cord is a new solo exhibition by Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín, running from 20th June to 2nd August 2025 at the gallery’s Exmouth Market space. This exhibition marks a milestone in Pichillá’s ongoing exploration of Maya heritage, cultural resistance, and the intricate relationships between Indigenous traditions and contemporary art practices.

This upcoming exhibition will coincide with the release of Ombligo Tierra (Navel-Earth), a  new publication curated by Pichillá. The book offers an in-depth examination of his artistic journey, providing new insight into his innovative work. Featuring contributions from leading scholars in the fields of art and anthropology, the publication highlights the artist’s deep engagement with Guatemalan culture and his unrelenting search to connect the ancient with
the modern.

Antonio Pichillá’s work is a testament to the evolving dialogues between Western contemporary art and Indigenous craft traditions, particularly through materials inspired by Mayan cosmology and the natural world. His art is a “restless search for a bond that integrates with the environment as something inexact, uncodified,” reflecting his commitment to embodying the fluid, transitory nature of cultural identity. Pichillá’s art, deeply rooted in his Tz’utujil heritage, stands as a statement of resistance against homogenised cultural narratives, celebrating the diversity of Tz’utujil life and identity. His works often combine found natural elements, such as stones and branches, with textiles and handmade objects, grounded in anthropological research into Guatemalan rural and urban life.

In Umbilical Cord, Pichillá expands on his long-standing exploration of the knot as a metaphorfor life and the challenges inherent in cultural continuity, a knot between the past and present. “The cord is a connection to life,” he explains. “And life itself is a knot of problems, metaphorically tied to a day in the Mayan calendar called B’ATZ, which means to knot and unknot.” This concept runs throughout his work, appearing in textile wrappings, the braids of a grandmother’s hair, and candles with knots that are undone through fire.

Referencing a video work previously exhibited at the Barbican, Pichillá extends this motif further in this upcoming exhibition at Elizabeth Xi Bauer. The act of burning, an integral part of his practice, is present in canvases and textiles, reinforcing themes of transformation and renewal. He notes:

“Since I have developed the concept of the knot over time, I have included textile wrappings,
the braids of a grandmother’s hair, the candle with a knot that is unknotted through fire, and
canvases burned with fire, including textiles associated with works by my grandmother and grandfather.”

By reinterpreting traditional materials and rituals, Umbilical Cord invites viewers to reflect on the invisible threads that bind us—to our histories, to each other, and to the ever-evolving process of creation and transformation.