Towards a Buen Vivir-centric Design: Decolonising Artisanal Design With Mayan Weavers From the Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico

aut.author.twitter@DIANALBARRAN
aut.embargoNoen_NZ
aut.thirdpc.containsYesen_NZ
aut.thirdpc.permissionNoen_NZ
aut.thirdpc.removedYesen_NZ
dc.contributor.advisorWilson, Jani
dc.contributor.advisorAguayo, Claudio
dc.contributor.advisorSteagall, Marcos
dc.contributor.authorAlbarrán González, Diana
dc.date.accessioned2020-07-03T03:29:25Z
dc.date.available2020-07-03T03:29:25Z
dc.date.copyright2020
dc.date.issued2020
dc.date.updated2020-07-03T02:55:36Z
dc.description.abstractThe highlands of Chiapas is a Mayan region in southeast Mexico recognised for its richness in artisanal textiles. The intervention of hegemonic design in textile traditions has been used as a developmental strategy, following market-driven approaches in a field known as “diseño artesanal” (artisanal design). However, the role of artisans as producers of designers’ creations, the lack of reference to the cultural context, the unequal relationships of power, and the colonisation of Indigenous knowledge is a critical concern. This research aims to contribute to the decolonisation of artisanal design through Buen Vivir (good living, collective well-being), and the recognition of Indigenous design. At the same time, it challenges inequalities in the Mexican context with those in the conventional design field. In a similar manner to the concept of to Buen Vivir, Lekil Kuxlejal (a fair and dignified life) from the Mayan Tsotsil and Tseltal people, is explored through visual-digital-sensorial ethnography and co-design alongside Mayan weavers whose work demonstrates alternatives to textile artisanal design from a community perspective. The wider project seeks to develop a foundation for a context-based, non-Western/Indigenous design from the Global South. The study is rooted in jolobil, an ancient precolonial textile tradition known as backstrap loom weaving. Using jolobil as a research metaphor and methodology, a yosotros approach (Yo+Nosotros) weaves embodiment, sentipensar (feeling-thinking or sensing-thinking), and corazonar (reasoning and feeling with the heart) with decolonial theory, design research and co-design from the Global South. Further, drawing on Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies such as Buen Vivir and Zapatismo the study proffers a new approach to textiles as resistance, based on Mayan cosmovisión (vision of the cosmos), contributing to the collective well-being of artisanal communities. As a result, a central proposal of this study is a Buen Vivir-centric design model, the guiding principle for ethical and fair collaboration which, above all else, respects the autonomía of the community towards Lekil Kuxlejal.en_NZ
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10292/13492
dc.language.isoenen_NZ
dc.publisherAuckland University of Technology
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccess
dc.subjectDesignen_NZ
dc.subjectBuen Viviren_NZ
dc.subjectDecolonisationen_NZ
dc.subjectTextilesen_NZ
dc.titleTowards a Buen Vivir-centric Design: Decolonising Artisanal Design With Mayan Weavers From the Highlands of Chiapas, Mexicoen_NZ
dc.typeThesisen_NZ
thesis.degree.grantorAuckland University of Technology
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral Theses
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen_NZ
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
AlbarranGonzalezD2.pdf
Size:
11.25 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Thesis
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
889 B
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Collections