Gods Wearing Pots is a new body of work comprising drawings as well as a sculpture - a forged steel morion, or colonial style helmet, inverted like a cooking pot. This new work gives shape to Hiwa K´s inquiries into early colonial encounters between the Inca and Spanish Empires, and reflects on hybrid and hidden narratives, the circulation of cultures and traditions, and the perception—and misperception—of others.
Somewhere I heard that the Incas thought that the conquistadors were wearing pots on their heads, and that they were llamas and not human beings. Researching this account, I came accross Efraín Trelles, an art historian that confirmed that this story exists. The story comes from a book written by Guaman Poman in the 16th century telling the history of the Andean region and the encounter with the Spanish conquistadors. The drawings ‚Salute God of Thunder‘ are based on my exchanges with Trelles. The work is also about history written by one part, of history written by Europeans, and how the Incas thought that the conquistadors were gods.
