Christian Hernán De Restrepo Zúñiga Velázquez Betancourt, is a Boston-based American/Colombian first generation maker who explores the intersections of opposing worlds and the Self, by joining unusual and mundane materials to create a cohesive whole from disparate parts.

Through an obsessive ritualistic process, De Restrepo fabricates hand-worked textiles, primarily expanding the possibilities of his signature stapled fabric, la tela engradapa.

By transforming the textiles into objects that border the line between sculpture and wearability, he echoes the beliefs and technical artistry of his ancestors’ metalwork, and their respect for materials and the process.

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His most recent project, “A El Mismo” explores, builds, and brings to life the notion of a stolen ancestral future. Inspired and driven by his families immigration to the United States from Colombia, he proposes an alternative timeline where the Spanish Colonization of Latino America hadn’t occurred, offering instead a visual narrative to what Pre-Hispanic cultures from Colombia, like the Musica and Tairona, might have looked like had they had the chance to thrive into the 21st century.

Contact at Chrestrep@gmail.com