Guna women have a high regard for their appearance. Most of them would never go out in public wearing a damaged or dirty mola blouse. When blouses are damaged, or simply wear out, they are normally disposed of. But Kit Kapp collected a number of molas that are in terrible condition. All kinda ripped, torn, burnt, stained, crazy-faded and full of holes. There is one thing they all have in common — they are great molas. Interesting. Beautiful. Intricate. The usually involved a lot of labor on the part of the artist.
So here’s our theory: when a Guna woman puts her heart and soul into a mola, it becomes an object of great pride. Something worth wearing, even when it’s damaged. It’s a good theory. We’re pretty sure we’re right. And we are very sure we’re glad that Kit had the insight to acquired these “damaged goods,” because they are awesome.
