(Originally published in British Journal of Photography on 30 January 2026)

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Alchemy is a European word derived from Arabic that refers to philosophies of quasi-magical change and transmutation aimed at positive, surprising encounters or endings^[1]. Accordingly, alchemists are those who preserve and perform the knowledge sustained by alchemy.

Alquimia Textil by the Peruvian Nicolás Garrido, documents the magic of Andean traditional dye extraction and textile dyeing as safeguarded by the artisan women’s cooperative Pumaqwasim^[2] in Chinchero, Cusco. With this project, the photographer creates a visual dialogue with ancestral traditions, memory, natural environment, and materiality.

Having taken a leap into photography only three years ago from a career in digital marketing, for Garrido, Alquimia Textil was born out of the personal need to engage with a long-term project after having done numerous short stories.’ To access the Pumaqwasim cooperative and document the ancient technique, he collaborated with the Peruvian fashion designer of sustainable clothing, María Lucía Muñoz, who was already researching the work of the Indigenous women. She later became essential in both the conceptual and material features of the project.

The photographer used two film cameras that he had borrowed from friends – a Nikon M-35 and a Mamiya RB67. Unbeknownst to him, the cameras were faulty, and it was only upon collecting the photographs from the laboratory that Garrido realised the negatives were flawed due to issues with the camera components. Besides the naturally occurring grain of film photographs, all the images presented unexpected light leaks, either subtle or extremely obvious, which echoed the fundamentally unpredictable nature of the traditional dyeing techniques documented in the images. The fashion designer encouraged Garrido to embrace error as part of the conceptual rationale of the project: ‘We realised that these faults added layers of meaning to the work, rather than detracting. Even every digital photograph I took felt as if they were too polished for the aesthetics the project called for’ he shares.

Interested in exploring these ideas of trial and error, the photographer began experimenting with the natural dyes procured by the women from Pumaqwasim. They specialise in harvesting the fruits of qolle and ch’illka, two native plants endemic to the high Andes, and cochineal insects. The three are then transformed into ochres, greens and red tints respectively, used to dye natural fibres with which the women manufacture traditional clothes.

He used the colours extracted from the plants and insects to prepare the surface of the materials, where he later applied the Van Dyke brown process. He trialled fabrics and paper, including photographic paper, allowing the materials to lead the process, in line with the Andean attitude to life of laissez-faire. ‘With this project, I’ve learned a lot from chance and letting yourself go. Also, how to listen to what the project requires of you,’ explains the photographer. The volatility of the natural inks on the support materials employed for the Van Dyke process makes each image unique and further connects the photographs to the conceptual unpredictability of the dyeing process itself.

The work the artisans do is not only about natural dyeing; it is also about resilience, ancestral knowledge, the importance of preserving it for future generations, and environmental stewardship. Equally, Alquimia Textil is not only the documentation of an ancient process. The photographs become vessels to celebrate tradition and the value of slowness by converting the technicity of the photographic medium into a haptic craft. They also visualise the quiet resistance of a group of Indigenous women against the industrialisation of textile processes and its ultimate consequences: the so-called fast fashion and its role in the climate crisis –each year, the blossoming, and therefore the harvest, of the flowers and plants happens later due to the continuously changing environmental conditions.

In 2025, Alquimia Textil was awarded the Sony World Photography Award in the Environment category. This accolade has helped Garrido to position his work in the global photography scene. For him, it has been both a personal and professional affirmation. While it has given him the confidence to trust that leaving a secure job to pursue photography was the right decision, it has also given him permission to keep exploring and trusting the process: ‘I want to continue researching the materiality of photography while making it all more environmentally sustainable.’

^[1] Source: Encyclopaedia Brittanica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/alchemy

^[2] From the Quechua language meaning ‘House of the Puma.’

 [1]https://www.1854.photography/2026/01/textile-alchemy-nicolas-garrido-project-2025/