My Photos : Barbados, 2022

Shepherd ,and his herd of black iron chameleons.

Lobi People, Burkina Faso

Comparing perceptions of race in Latin America and the United States, the fundamental question posed is "why did Latin America not have black movements... [or] racial 'pride' that could spur such movements?" The common explanation is that state ideologies around racial mixing have served as a mechanism through which to deny the existence of racism.

Tatiana Flores, "Latinidad Is Cancelled: Confronting an Anti-Black Construct" (2021)

“Vodou means “spirit.” It’s a Fon [a people of Benin, formerly Dahomey] word. It’s like, in English you say “spirit”; in Spanish you say “espirito,” and in French you say “esprit.” But it’s all the same; this is what we are. Our bodies are made of pieces of dust, just made up of dust. Inside the body is a spirit. That’s the mystery. An ant is a mystery; the chicken is a mystery; plants are mysteries. All is spirit. Until we understand that and raise our consciousness to see that we are not only made of flesh, we remain prisoners. We must be conscious that we are spirit. That way we will know what possibilities we really have, what power we really have as people.”

— Mimerose Beaubrun, interview in Angels in the Mirror: Vodou Music of Haiti

Dans le vodoun ayitien, on dit que chaque humain marche avec son kò kadav = le corps matériel, son nanm = l'âme, son tibonanj, son gwobanang, ses lwa têt, ses mystères et ses anges. Le kò kadav est, entre autres, l'expression physique et actuelle de tout les ancêtres qui nous habitent. Quand je travaille sur les objets je me sens connectée à un tissage ancestral. Les objets sont plus que de simples ustensiles ou décorations. Ce sont des productions culturelles qui expriment des perceptions philosophiques, scientifiques, esthétiques et qui surtout témoignent de vie humaine !

Material and visual heritage of Manman dlo, Lasiren, Yemọja and Ọṣun.

I was so happy when I found this review at an antique store in Batlimore. It was like the connection has to be made.

Omo Valley, Ethiopie

Old and recent photos of UWI Cave Hill Campus, Barbados

The administration building was designed in the shape of an Akan stool, a West African symbol of cultural identity and ancestral wisdom. It was commissioned by Sir Hilary Beckles to reflect a collective will to reconnect with African heritage and envision future bonds rooted in that legacy.

Oduduwa Hall of Obafemi Awolowo University, ile -ife, Nigeria.