In addition to being founder and director of AWA, Patsy is a multidisciplinary artist. Patsy created these works after traveling through the beautiful fjords and glaciers of Norway a number of years ago when climate change was only beginning to enter the public conscience. At the time Patsy’s artistic vocabulary grew out of an exploration of her own Indigenous ancestry and she took much inspiration from ancient Peruvian textiles and glacier formations in developing her unique visual language. 

 

Patsy feels these works are prophetic and are a mysterious manifestation of her own profound connection with the Apus of her native Peru. APU being a Quechua word that refers to a divine spirit within the mountain. In Quechua mythology the Apus are protectors and ceremonial offerings are regularly made by the highland villagers to express veneration and gratitude for this protection. For Patsy these paintings are offerings of this nature.

 

Tekse Apus, An Instance of Melting: Taita Inti, Taita Waira, Mama Uno, and Mama Ch’aska, An Instance of melting, An Indeterminate State, A Place Apart, Nothing To Do But Wait. Various sizes. Gesso, paint, and pencil on aluminum.