Maria-Alejandra Huicho

Negritos, Pariñas and La Brea (The Tar) are all names of villages in Piura, in the northern coast of Peru. They share an arid geography, a proximity to the sea and a cultural and political history tied to oil.

The traces of the abandoned containers, refineries and offices spread around the vast northern desert run parallel to the presence of its people and the history of the region. The landscape bears the mark of oil extraction but the people that inhabit it have also bound their lives, culture and history to it.

Various textures, formats and subjects are put together to shape a multi-layered evocation of the region and ultimately reveal the sculptural of its landscapes, the juxtaposition of present and past, of migration, loss, hope and the perseverance of the human spirit.