Chilean-Australian ceramist Sol Contardo was so moved by images of the Selk'nam, that she felt inspired to create pieces that pay homage to the ceremonial traditions of the Indigenous people who inhabited the Tierra del Fuego islands of the Chilean archipelago.
In her first solo exhibition, Te Hosek'en Harw - The Edge of the World, Contardo showcases recreated ceremonial masks and paintings that the Selk'nam used when they inhabited the region.
"They are aesthetically very striking because their bodies are painted, and one would think that they are an African people or from any country, but not Chilean and they are also naked in the snow," Contardo tells SBS Spanish.
"The colours and images they use when painting their bodies are very geometric and it was something that stayed in my mind for many years."
It was upon her arrival in Australia that Contardo found the ideal moment to express what she “felt for years” in wanting to draw eyes to this ancient culture.
Source: Martin Gusinde
The Selk'nam were one of three tribes that inhabited the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.
They lived in the region for more than 10,000 years. Their spiritual beliefs and initiation ceremonies are linked to the harsh and extreme climate of the southernmost part of Latin America.
The arrival of European settlers during the 19th century marked the beginning of the end for the Selk'nam, who fell victim to what historians consider a genocide.
During a 20-year span, from the late 19th to the early 20th century, the Selk'nam, had an estimated population of 4,000 people, and saw their numbers reduced to 500.
Artist Sol Contardo with her pieces. Source: SBS Spanish
Contardo contacted the few descendants of the Indigenous group and they advised her on how to respectfully use their iconography and ancient symbols.
The artist explains that the living members of the Indigenous group condemn the full use of their spiritual figures without consultation.
"For them it is to invoke the spirits," she explains. 
For this reason, Contardo’s pieces represent only parts of the human figure, as showing full bodies would be considered disrespectful.
Source: SBS Spanish
Her works include masks and busts decorated with the colours red, white and black, pigments that the Selk'nam extract from nature.
When asked about her views on cultural appropriation, Contardo says she feels that inspiration can be found anywhere, and that she feels satisfied with the consultation process she undertook.
"You see things that suddenly trigger something creative, but when it comes to indigenous communities ... that's why I consulted with them, because I'm not Selk'nam, and I didn't want to appropriate something that isn't mine," she details.
The exhibition at Gallery Lane Cove in Sydney’s north is presented alongside the works of three Aboriginal female artists, Barbara McGrady, Nadeena Dixon and Carmen Glynn-Brau.
Contardo says her work finds similarities between the cultures of the Indigenous Australian peoples and the Selk'nam.
"Having talked to them, we found many similarities, not only in the history of suffering and colonisation but also in connection with the land, families, groups, art.”
Many Selk'nam were adopted by non-Indigenous families and today they live dispersed in urban society trying to be recognised as an Indigenous group.
"They tell me that art is a window for them, to go out into the world, the fact of having shown this exhibition here in Australia for them is to make themselves known to a world that does not know them,” Contardo says.
The exhibition will run until December 5.
