Eleggua Detail

1999
Detail, Yemaya Asesu Installation

This detail of an Eleggua image included in the Yemaya Asesu exhibit provides an up-close look at the results of the flood in the gallery (See Yemaya Asesu Installation). As seen here, no damage was done. It actually looks like I had intended to include wet sand in the exhibit. Eleggua the orisha who opens paths and doors. His image is usually created out of a mound of cement, with cowry shells forming his facial features. In this case, the santero created his image within a seashell representing his own parent orisha Yemaya Asesu, to whom this installation was dedicated.