© Jorge das Neves

© Jorge das Neves

Lastenia Canayo – Pecon Quena

Acrylic on canvas
Private collection

Lastenia Canayo – Pecon Quena ‘the one who calls the colours’ is a Shipiba artist and healer from the Peruvian Amazon community of Roroboya, in Bajo Ucayali. Through her paintings, Pecon Quena represents the spirits of plants and animals (also called ‘owners’) that regulate the use of medicinal plants and the communication between humans and non-human forces. Lastenia Canayo developed her artistic practice with her mother, Maetsa Rahua, ‘the one who sees the sound’, and her grandmother. Her work allows us to access the Kene, the Shipiba cosmovision transmitted by women. In Shipiba cosmogony all natural manifestations are inhabited by tutelary beings with whom men and women interact socially. The owners or ‘mothers’ of human beings grant their favours in exchange for a social behaviour that is based on reciprocity and avoids plundering or abusing natural resources.