Vodoun Vevers

Erzulie

Ogun

Legba

Agwé

Simbi

Vodoun (also voudon, vodou, voodoo) is a Caribbean religion which arose amidst the slave population of Haiti, and in its syncretism is similar to Candomble of Brazil. It combines elements of central and western African pantheons, Roman Catholicism, and French-style Freemasonry.

The pantheons (which vary from tradition to tradition within Vodoun) consist of spirits, or loa, each of whom maps either to an old African god, or a Catholic saint, or, more usually, both. Some loa, such as Agwé, are forces of nature; others, such as Erzulie, represent archetypes of human character; others still, such as Legba, are abstract concepts.

Vodoun worship is characterized by ceremonies in which the loa are invoked. Each loa to be invoked is represented by a symbol, or vever (vévé), drawn on the floor of the ceremonial area (peristyle) with cornmeal or some other powder, a pattern which is obliterated later during the ecstatic dancing that occurs at the height of the ceremony.

This ongoing series of paintings combines the already syncretic symbols of the loa with similar, largely European Hermetic, motifs.