The 'Contemporary Rock Art' project explores possible links between Peruvian rock art and engraving, giving priority to petroglyphs over pictograms due to the similarity of the former to contemporary graphic art.
We believe that by popularizing pre-Columbian iconography we will contribute to the recognition of its cultural significance and allow contemporary Peruvian art to refer to the past in search of its roots.


The engravings presented here - woodcuts, aquatints and screen prints - reproduce or reinterpret petroglyphs from sites such as Yonán (Cajamarca department), El Alto de las Guitarras(La Libertad), Checta and Valle de Mala (Lima), Huáncor and Chichictara (Ica) and Toro Muerto (Arequipa). The writer of these words has visited all these sites, accompanied by a small group of young graphic artists and an experienced French photographer.


Thanks to the accurate carbon copies made during these visits, the woodcuts produced later allowed the petroglyphs to be reproduced in their natural scale, while the aquatints and screen prints revealed their graphic qualities.

Manuel Munive