Memories often seem to come from a past that fades in memory. Luckily, Eliana Otta Vildoso (Lima, 1981) has several ties that bring her closer to her hometown, her childhood and other drivers of inspiration for this artist and now writer, whose children's book Lucía has street (Pesopluma, 2021) has allowed him to capture part of his Lima memories, now that he resides between Austria and Greece, while completing his doctorate at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts.
He smiles on the other side of the screen, and the world, and one of the first phrases that cannot be ignored is when he says that “Lima is his inspiration.” Her character, Lucía, is a girl who rides a bicycle through the streets of the Peruvian capital thinking about the characters in it, the buildings and the notorious changes of a metropolis that appears indifferent to women and girls (why Are there no monuments to them? Lucía wonders).
“The book was going to come out in 2010, but it couldn't be published and a couple of years ago we took it up again. I was interested in recovering the way we relate to the city. We published it in January, and I was in Lima for a few weeks for the city's anniversary,” says Eliana, who has now been away from the city that inspired her entire career for three years. “I was always interested in Lima as a phenomenon, as a problem, I did a lot of work on Lima,” says Eliana, who has also been co-founder of the Bisagra collective, to articulate artistic and research work.
Work, family, Lima
In her first jobs, Eliana toured neighborhoods, markets and parks taking photos, drawing maps and recording videos of places that caused her sensations (the illegal market of Tacora, the old houses that are replaced by buildings, the gardens of some Lima urbanizations). In Peru, it is said that 'he has street' who has mischief and a certain malice. She wanted to change that meaning so that it helps improve the city.
“Let it be a way to express affection, feelings, feel comfortable and safe. The book was an interesting way to expand conversations about Lima and its very different realities,” says Otta, who in his childhood forays had Tilsa, his poet sister, as a companion. “We grew up together, we went alone to study English, we took the Chama bus, my dad gave us money for the ticket.”
As a child, Eliana says, her father, Vicente, liked to explore the huariques, hidden places where they are experts in preparing a dish. “I saw a comment in some newspaper and wanted to try it. We went to many places in the city because of their interests,” he adds. “My family has been a great influence, I grew up in Condevilla, in San Martín de Porres, on my father's side, and on my mother's side we went to La Punta, in Callao.”
Family, travel, art
His father grew up on the San Rafael farm, in Casma, with his brothers. “He did not have access to my grandfather's stories because he was the last of ten siblings. For years my grandfather was a mystery, although he was very present to other members of the family. What they told us is that Yoishe was someone with a very strong work ethic, very clear values of how to do things in general, and he was quite strict.”
Vicente and Carmen, Tilsa and Eliana Otta's parents, are sociologists and since they were children they instilled in them an interest in art and culture. “My dad had a big library, they are both film buffs. They sent us to an alternative school, José Antonio Encinas, where they put a lot of emphasis on art and extracurricular activities.” Since she was a child, Eliana drew, made crafts and wrote comics that were part of an invented catalog. The art career seemed logical, although literature came first.
“I am interested in creation in its various forms. I tried letters for a year, but I preferred visual art, and I specialized in painting.” His first exhibition was in 2008 and since then his work has been exhibited in London, Athens, Barcelona and Cali 1 . A couple of years ago he was able to visit Japan, he was in Utsunomiya, an hour from Tokyo, and he was impressed by many customs. “Tokyo is a very calm and quiet place. Children from the age of five go to school alone, they walk with their lunch boxes and backpacks, and the tradition is that the older ones pick up the younger ones.”
Migration, art, Lima
In Japan, Eliana has nephews who do not speak Spanish, some Peruvian relatives are married to Brazilians and Japanese, a family tree full of diverse branches. In Europe, Eliana faced this lack of knowledge about migration and Nikkei identity. “They tell me about Machu Picchu, but they didn't understand why I had a Japanese surname.” In his case, he says he feels his Nikkei origin naturally. “In my house there were images with Hokusai paintings and my dad always made sashimi, but with rocoto.”
From Atenas, where she lives temporarily with her cat Tina that she brought from Lima, Eliana remembers her bicycle rides to go to study and longs to return to the city that inspires her. “I always wanted to live in Lima and help create more spaces to create, I have one foot in Peru, for emotional and friendly reasons, and because what motivates me to create is there.” He knows about the critical situation due to the pandemic and thinks about the most vulnerable, those who cannot stay at home working, or who have other risks due to their social condition.
With their friends Natalí Durand and Jesús Martínez they are implementing “Voices and goodbyes”, a page to gather stories about people who have died during the pandemic. “In Vienna there are resources for the population, you can get free tests and there are masks in supermarkets.” When she went to Athens, it seemed closer to Lima, much more chaotic, but she says she feels more comfortable. Recently, she has been invited to participate in One Minute Space , an interdisciplinary artistic space that will give her a place to work, an Athenian corner where she will surely be inspired again in Lima.
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© 2021 Javier García Wong-Kit
