Cecilia Vicuña's solo exhibition 'Reverse Migration, a Poetic Journey' opens at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) in Dublin, running from November 7, 2025, to July 5, 2026. Originally planned as a retrospective, the show evolved after Vicuña discovered her ancestral ties to the Oisín Clan in Northern Ireland, becoming an exploration of interconnectedness between Chile and Ireland. Central works include 'Aran Quipu' (2025), a knotted-cord installation using heritage wool from Galway Wool Co-op, and 'Mourning Dialogue' (2025), an immersive sound piece blending chants for disappearing glaciers with the call of Ireland's endangered Curlew bird. The exhibition also features photographs from 'A Poetic Journey in Northern Ireland' (2006) and a Sheela-na-gig on loan from Ireland's National Museum.
This exhibition matters because it reframes the relationship between two seemingly distant nations—Chile and Ireland—through shared histories of colonization, language erasure, and environmental loss. Vicuña's use of the quipu, an ancient Andean communication system outlawed by Spanish colonizers, parallels Ireland's own experience of British suppression of the Irish language. By weaving together indigenous Andean traditions with Irish cultural symbols, the show challenges conventional geographic and historical boundaries, offering a poetic model for understanding global interconnectedness. As Vicuña's first exhibition in Ireland, it also introduces her decades-long practice to a new audience, emphasizing art's capacity to reveal hidden connections across cultures.