Chukos: Ancestral Weaving Reimagined
A basket collection blending Chancay heritage with contemporary design. Crafted with junco and fish leather, it results from a collaboration with Arte Chancay artisans, merging ancestral techniques with innovative materials. Inspired by cuchimilcos, its form is reinterpreted through the shicra weave, creating a playful fusion of tradition and modern craftsmanship.
Academic Project, 2019
Input
Immersion in town Chancay
The academic expedition of almost a week served to involve us in the sociourban context, to relate with the craftswomen’s associations and to work directly on the project.
Approach to the Chancay Culture
In the town’s municipal museum, inspiration was found in the iconography and objects of the Chancay Culture, developed in this territory during the Late Middle Period (1200 – 1470 AD) of Ancient Peru.
Process
Artisan and design working
There were several sessions of intense work, where conversation, laughter, and iteration were key to make the prototype in an effective and fun way. Also, a variety of tools were projected to elaborate the baskets.
Materiality
This project tries to integrate and represent the ancestral wisdom and sustainable innovation of handicrafts: the shicra knot in junco (reed) and fish leather, which are made from renewable natural resources to which the artisans of Chancay have access.
Output
Junco and fish leather baskets
This collection manages to weave a sustainable harmony between the junco (reed) and fish leather in a handcrafted object of utilitarian and decorative character that represents the people of Chancay. Therefore, through Chukos, we seek to position artisans as heirs of ancestral wisdom and innovative entrepreneurs with great potential to be the engines that energize local social, economic and cultural circles.
More
Innovación en la Artesanía 2019 application
To learn more about the process of the project and application to the national contest please visit Behance.
Project developed by industrial designer Gabriel Cordova and the craftswomen association Arte Chancay within the subject Diseño de Productos 1 taught at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú during the remote academic semester 2018-1. Upgraded to participate in the national competition Innovación en la Artesanía 2019 held in Lima, Peru; where it reached the final stage in the category Artisan Product.
Gabriel Cordova Ch. 