Catalina Swinburn

My practice unfolds through an ongoing dialogue with historical narratives, drawing from archaeological documentation, national treasures, vintage cartography, literature, classical architecture, music, opera, and the fine arts. Through this research, I investigate living traditions and seek to evoke what is no longer present. Working primarily with paper weaving, I transform archival materials into sculptures, installations, tapestries, and performative investitures. These works emerge from a process of reinterpreting historical documents, allowing past and present to intersect through material and gesture. I am particularly drawn to ancestral rituals connected to sacred places, geography, and collective memory. My practice becomes a means of retrieval, of reconstructing fragmented histories and reactivating forgotten knowledge. Through this work, I address broader concerns such as sustainability, identity, gender equality, and globalisation, while tracing the deep and often overlooked connections that have shaped the Global South across time