Orixa Yemanjá is the matriarch of all deities in the Candomblé religion, a water deity whose name translates to “mother of the children of the fish.” An exhibit at Eastern Connecticut State University shows the work of four artists on the theme of Orixa Yemanjá.
New York artist José Rodríguez, who has followed that religion since 1995, has created three fascinating, highly symbolic installations as part of the show.
“Succor / Sucker” is an 11-1/2-feet tall crushed-velvet purple cape topped with a white cap with a mirror for a face. Inside the tent/shrine are symbols of power, femininity and water: a crown, mermaids, jeweled weapons, fish, flowers.
“Yemanjá in a sense represents the archetype of motherhood,” Rodríguez said. “Motherhood is where we go for solace, succor, safety. The cape becomes like a structure, a teepee.”
Motherhood is also the theme in “Per(il)locution,” a throne decorated with mirrors, roses and cowrie shells, circled by candles, roses and penny offerings inside a curtained alcove. The piece was made from the artist’s late mother’s vanity chair, turned into a shrine to his mother “Nina” and grandmother “Cuca,” their names sewn into the chair. Hummingbirds hover over the chair.
“Hummingbirds are very fiercely protective and territorial, kind of like a fireball of energy, constantly moving and protecting their territory,” he said.
A different view of the sacred is seen in “Eeny Meeny Minie Moe, Ain’t Gonna Catch Me by the Toe.” Rodríguez uses pennies to re-create children’s street games like a hopscotch, surrounds them with a wall of street art and places jeweled shoes in the center.
“We tend to think of the sacred as something lofty, exalted by religion. But to a child, play is a sacred act,” he said. ” They can just pick up the tiniest pebble stare at it for hours in wonderment. Through that imagining we envision the world and create the world around us.”
Other artists are print maker Isolina Limonta, photographer Gerald Lee Hoffman and filmmaker Donna Roberts.
GUARDIANS OF NATURE is in the gallery in Fine Arts Instructional Center at Eastern Connecticut State University, 83 Windham St. in Willimantic, until Dec. 8. easternct.edu/artgallery
