For CBP’s exhibition, Alarcón produced two uniquely figurative works. In this piece, she experiments with nylon threads and the possibilities provided by a synthetic colour palette to render imaginary worlds, as she relays a cosmogenic tale told in countless variations throughout the Gran Chaco:

All the world’s water - which is also all that is life - was once contained inside a yuchán tree. But when one day a spear struck the great dorado fish, the tree’s water burst through its thick bark like an avalanche. As the liquid flowed out it gave shape to the world. Tokuaj, a mischievous spirit, had broken the sacred rule and killed the great golden fish that maintained life’s harmony. Tokuaj’s disobedience begins the history of a world with people in it.

Nitsäyphä is a Wichí word that refers specifically to the explosion of water in this tale. It can also be used to describe the concept of ‘connecting’, in which timeless messages are shared and preserved by Wichí women by repeating a key gesture or activity within their culture. Claudia Alarcón and Silät have adopted the word nitsäyphä to define their own ‘explosion of life’ through free expression and creativity.