However, it was only 20 years ago that she began to exploretextilesin her artistic practice.
Textile came to me in a more sculptural way, Hernando tells My Modern Met.
I began to do small, experimental installations at first.
“Flood (Déferlante),” 2020
I started by incorporating embroideries.
Its such a transportable task.
Its the immediacy and the simplicity of it, how easy it is to bring it with you.
“Flood (Déferlante),” 2020
Two needles and the threads will do.
It strikes me as an adaptive and organic activity…
I believe this happens as a result of the very manual nature of textile working.
“Flood,” 2020 (Photo: Rachel Berkowitz)
Hernandos evocative work has brought her much recognition throughout her career.
I learned about the effects of all sorts of external factors on tulle when exposed to the environment.
The wind, the sun, the smog.
“Waterfall,” 2020 (Photo: Rachel Berkowitz)
It was fascinating to observe this relational quality of the fabric with the environment.
But due to the pandemic, I had to change the plan completely.
There was so much I could experiment and do with tulle.
“Waterfall,” 2020 (Photo: Rachel Berkowitz)
The restrictions opened many new possibilities.
Bolts of colorful tulle fabric flow from the most unlikely of places in the resulting site-specific installations.
On the one hand, my work is about abundance, about this unstoppable energy, Hernando reveals.
“Waterfall,” Detail, 2020 (Photo: Rachel Berkowitz)
I am a passionate person.
There is an urgency that I feel about the fact that we are alive.
This flow of love, flow of life.
“Desborde (Overflow),” 2020
And the urgency is in being awake, during this time that we are alive.
And living with intent.
This outpouring of love, and giving, is what I want to communicate.
“Solo escuchaba el aire (Only the Air Was Heard),” 2020
Also, my work is very much about the feminine.
And it is very feminine.
Big, feminine, unstoppablein size and color.
“Without the Weight of Being Awake (Sin el peso de estar depiertos),” 2020 (Photo: Rachel Berkowitz)
I want my work to have a quality of strength, strong in its feminine nature.
I want this loudness that the feminine can bring to be really present.
Usually, people associate tulle with weddings and fairytales, and I can see why people go there.
“Epiphany,” 2020 (Photo: Rachel Berkowitz)
But I dont want to give people a fairytale.
These sculptures are about power.
Often power seems like it can only be found in hard materials, in stringent, strict forms.
“Ñusta Espléndida (Cantamos fuerte para que nos escuchan); Splendid Ñusta (Singing Loudly To Be Heard),” 2020
This is why the scale, and the layering, of these pieces is so important to me.
Related Articles:
“A Visit From the Mountain,” Performative Installation, 2020 (Photo: Rachel Berkowitz)
“To Make a Place for a Bird To Land,” 2020 (Photo: Rachel Berkowitz)
“To Make a Place for a Bird To Land,” Detail, 2020 (Photo: Rachel Berkowitz)
“Unmoored From the Familiar Expectations,” Performative Installation, 2020 (Photo: Rachel Berkowitz) Special thanks to artists Christopher Kojzar and Alessandro Sciaraffa for their participation.
