For Art Basel’s 2024 Miami Beach edition, Proyectos Ultravioleta is thrilled to present a selection of artworks by Paula Nicho (Chi Xot, 1955), a Maya Kaqchikel weaver and painter based in Chi Xot (San Juan Comalapa), Guatemala.

In Nicho’s paintings, dream symbolism plays a central role in acknowledging the balance and reciprocity of the natural and spiritual worlds as an essential component to the restoration of indigenous self-determination. In her words, “my inspiration for creating comes from many sources- our native women, my culture, my town, my life and the sacred Maya book, the Popol Vuh. Most of my ideas come to me in dreams.”

In her paintings, Maya patterns come out as women’s real skin, countering a history of colonisation and Western assimilation while uplifting the value and beauty of Maya textile design, prominently expressed in the huipil- a traditional, hand-woven garment on the backstrap loom, whose patterns reflect collective memories, knowledge, and
political histories.