‘The First Thing Is To Recover Space’: The Representation of Mapuche Icons in the Works of Christian Collipal and Eduardo Rapiman

Abstract

This article examines the ways Mapuche artists Christian Collipal and Eduardo Rapimán’s visual installations, sculptures, and paintings make the Mapuche presence visible in southern Chile, especially in the city of Temuco by being displayed in public places. Likewise, this study analyzes how their works employ Mapuche symbols and icons (kultrün, chemamüll, rewe, ñimin, and meliwitranmapu) to commemorate the Mapuche spiritual and historical relations with their tuwün (place of origin), as well as to reclaim a place of their own in the urban space.