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PHOTOS CREDIT TO JULES LISTER

Uku Pacha: the Inner World (2023, Leeds) was the first exhibition in the trilogy for my practice-led PhD project. In Andean mythology, Uku Pacha represents the realm below the ground, associated with snakes, mummies, bones, death, rituals, and ceremonies. Camelids have held significant symbolic power in this spiritual realm, being central to Andean ceremonies for centuries. Their connection to rituals and the sacred makes them key figures in Andean spiritual practices.
This exhibition was designed to evoke a ritualistic atmosphere, presenting a realm ruled by spirits. The space was divided into two rooms: the light room served as an archive, displaying the research behind the Llama Card Deck, a divination card deck inspired by camelid-related folklore from the Andes, alongside ritual objects collected during my field trip to Peru. The neon-lit dark room functioned as a fortune-teller’s altar, where I conducted public readings with the Llama Card Deck. Both rooms were adorned with wall paintings of fictional characters from the Book of Shadows, an artist's book I created to accompany the deck, representing spirits blessing the space.