Chullachaqui

Spirit of the Amazon Forest

"Chullachaqui" is a large-scale mural created by Neve in February 2026 in Rioja, in the San Martín region of Peru, as part of the Mimesis Amazónico festival. It is the artist's first work painted entirely with brushes.

The work draws from Amazonian mythology, depicting the Chullachaqui — a shapeshifting forest spirit deeply rooted in the oral traditions of indigenous Peruvian communities. According to legend, the Chullachaqui can take on the appearance of anyone you know or love, luring you deep into the jungle. If you respect the forest, the spirit becomes a guide and protector; if you disrespect it, it leads you astray — lost in the jungle forever. Neve renders the Chullachaqui as a face made of broken mirror shards, each fragment reflecting a different identity. The shapeshifter has no fixed form — it is always someone else, always a reflection. The broken mirror, a recurring motif in Neve's work, here becomes the visual language of transformation, deception, and the untameable nature of the wild.