Above:
"The Potato Harvest, Amaru, Peru", 24
x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas
My first painting was paintined way up in the Andes, an hours trek up from a tiny village called Amaru at a height of around 4000m. The farmer that I was staying with took me up into the mountains to look for the potato harvest and after 1.5 hrs of walking vertically up we came across this small family group clearing one of the last fields in the area. Mother,Father,Grandmother and a child all worked hard and they were accompanied by their animals - pigs and horses. The amazing space blue of the Andean sky dominates the view with the dry dusty red earth acting as a canvas for the multitude of plants,animals and the biodiverse potato crop of tubers of all colours from blue to red. As I painted, and the family harvested, my host famer continued to crochet a new Peruvian hat of many colours and geometric shapes.
Above: "Peruvian Potato Eaters", 24
x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas
My host family live in a small home constructed from Adobe mud bricks and consisting of one main living space. Bedrooms were accessed via an outside yard. In the yard sheep,cows,pigs and chickens live. The chickens are at liberty to wander into the inside living/kitchen space and half of that space is dedicated to a guinea pig farm! The guinea pigs wander around the kitchen on the earth floor and steal scraps of food when they can. Cooking is on an open fire (which is also the only form of heat) and there is one very small electric light and no windows. The family sit on rough wood benches and boxes. I was served excellent vegetarian food and felt so inspired by this honest kitchen that I decided to paint it live in the midst of the animals and smoke to capture the essence of the Peruvian kitchen and life. I was served simple boiled potatoes in their skins and a dipping bowl of salt, quinoa soup, and broad beans (which I had helped to harvest the previous day). The family were intrigued by the painting as it progressed and it was a fantastic way for me to communicate with them as they spoke Quechua, the native language of the high Andes which I have no knowledge of.
Above: "Andean Potato Pickers, Amaru" 24
x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas
The biodiversity of the harvest in Peru is not only visually stunning, but essential to life. The farmers plant a wide variety of each crop to ensure that unexpected rain/drought/cold or heat will not wipe out an entire years harvest. A harvest may be reduced by unfavourable conditions but by preserving the biodiversity of the crop they ensure a bountiful harvest each season. The potato tubers come in many shapes,sizes and colours and are collected together on colourful fabrics in the fields for sorting. This painting celebrates the diversity of the harvest and the colourful friendly people of Peru.
Above: "Family Harvest, Isla Taquile" 24
x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas
In the far south of Peru, near the Bolivian border, you find the genetic home of the potato. Peru is where the humble potato originated from, and this is also the place to find not only the biodiversiy but the culture and ceremonies associated with it. 45km into lake Titicaca is the island of Taquile which has some of the oldest potato terraces in the world. The people (Taquileños) of the island run their community as a collective and adhere to the Inca moral code; do not steal, lie of be lazy. This is a very traditional but rich society. The clothes worn by the men and women are the same throughout the year. The hats of the men being particuarly interesting as they indicate their marital status by the use of colour. After a day and a half of walking to find the harvest I painted this canvas as the family gathered their crop and again it became a wonderful way of communicating with the people. As I was watching them they watched me. Yellow butterflies flitted about and bird song filled the air. To slow the harvest up a little, and as a courtesy to the family, I provided plenty of coca leaves and beer which seemed to work a treat ! The harvest continued at a pace I could keep up with and a crowd of locals gathered to watch the spectacle. The family cooked some of the potatoes in a small earth oven they constructed and the farmer blessed my painting with beer for Pachamama. He was pleased with the length and straightness of the line the beer left on the earth, stating that this would bring great fortune to the painting.
Above: "Pachamama Pipers, Peru", 24
x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas
The islanders celebrate the bounty of the harvest and their farming history over two days in May each year. The festivities revolve around the story of how they became owners of the land they farm and they dance,drink,chew coca leaves and play drum and fife music to celebrate. My visit to the island was timed to catch this colourful festival and the memory I will take from it is the small band of pipers who continued playiing into the night as they marched triumphantly through the terraces of potato,quinoa,lupins and broad beans to visit each sponsors house. Their music blessing the land as they went and bringing good fortune to all. As they played, the spectacle of the southern night sky,milky way and the bright southern cross sparkled overhead. A very magical and musical experience.
Above: "Freeze Dried Festival Potatoes" 24
x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas
The potato festival, which celebrates the earth and pachamama, is rooted in the need for the harvest to succeed and for the ability of the people to be able to forecast the weather and seasons. The people look at many natural signs to help them judge what and when to plant. The diversity of animals, birds and fish are used as signs for how the coming season will be. The island has two distinct seasons, a wet summer and a dry winter and this painting captures,I hope, the importance of the culture,environment,biodiversity and seasons. Potatoes are spread on the ground to bake in the day and freeze at night; the temperature plunges from 25c to sub zero each evening. Often the people will trample the potatoes underfoot to squeeze the last drops of moisture out. This freeze drying not only allows the crop to be stored for decades as a food source, but it also triples the value of the crop when trading on the mainland. Last year in the dry cold season it suddenly rained unexpectedly causing the loss of much of the harvest as it laid exposed in the fields. This year following the many hours of dancing, music, beer drinking and coca leaf chewing should be a better result !
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International Potato Center
http://www.cipotato.org/
During
May 2009 John Dyer traveled to Peru as artist in residence for CIP, to paint at altitudes as high as 4125 meters to record the ethno-botanical story of one of the worlds most important plants.
United Nations International Year of the Potato '08
The potato is the third most important food crop in the world, after rice and wheat. Hundreds of millions of people rely on the biodiversity and success of the harvest. Peru is the birthplace of the potato and traditional farming techniques are preserving the biodiversity of the crop.
Photographs
Click to view more Photographs of John Dyer painting in Peru.
iTunes Podcast
View video of John Dyer's trip to Peru and a 45min video diary by the artist.
YouTube Video
Click to view a 10min video of artist John Dyer painting in Peru.
Photographs and some video courtesy of:
Jose Domingo Bustinza Chipana.
One of the best guides in Peru.
If you ever plan to vist Lake Titicaca and Isla Taquile we will happily put you in contact with Jose.
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Versión en Español
El CIP fue el anfitrión de la visita del artista plástico inglés John Dyer, quien visitó el Parque de la Papa en Pisac y el lago Titicaca en Puno en mayo pasado, con el fin de pintar escenas cotidianas del cultivo de papa en el Perú.
Su interés era capturar imágenes relacionadas con la papa en los Andes y el festival de la papa en la isla de Taquile (Puno). El resultado ha sido una serie de encantadoras imágenes de las que el CIP hará un buen uso en el futuro. Una de ellas ilustra esta información.
John Dyer es uno de los pintores ingleses más famosos de pintura al aire libre y uno de los artistas sobre temas de medio ambiente más conocidos en el ámbito internacional.
Su trabajo es muy cotizado internacionalmente y sus pinturas han sido materia de programas populares de televisión y comercializadas bajo diversos formatos. Asimismo, es uno de los artistas participantes en el proyecto Darwin 200.
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