Appropriating the Mola: Forms of Borrowing by Textile Artists

Abstract

Mola panels, made of layers of cloth, are a well-known souvenir and collectible internationally. A pair of rectangular mola panels form the back and front of a mola blouse and are part of the dress of an indigenous American Indian people, the Kuna (Guna), who live in Panama and Colombia. While the mola may be considered a form of wearable art, it has become a source of inspiration for contemporary Western textile artworks. The techniques used by Kuna women to sew mola panels – surface appliqué, reverse appliqué and embroidery – have been imitated, adapted, and transformed by textile artists, often as an evolving practice. The global influence of the mola is demonstrated in case studies of the work of six textile artists: Tsuyako Miyazaki (Japan), Fumiko Nakayama (Japan), John Corbett (Australia), Charlotte Patera (US), Christel Walter (Germany) and Herta Puls (UK). The works reviewed, stitched from the 1970s until recent times, are considered in terms of visual organization, color palette, materials, design motif, scale, sewing techniques, intent (meaning to the maker) and display qualities. The individual strategies of artists in responding to sources of inspiration originating from non-western cultures are considered along a continuum from imitation, through adaptation, to transformation.