'Tallan Faces and Traces' (2006) (Peru)

Peru's legendary Tallan culture inspires this oil on canvas by Carlos Lopez Avila. I wanted to paint a modern work of art with strong underpinnings from ancestral cultures, confides the talented artist. Lights and shadows reveal myriad masks and artifacts once used in the spiritual ceremonies of the Tallan people, who flourished in northern Peru. Titled Rostros y rastros tallanes in Spanish.