still life

I wonder sometimes at the elements I use to decorate the spaces I inhabit. I think I very much follow in line of the voodoo altar aesthetics. We are a syncretistic people, so I don't worry so much about consistency of theme. Or at least that's how I justify it.

In the center is Erzulie, who is often presented as the Virgin. She is the goddess of love, but she is actually two goddesses. Erzulie Freda is the goddess of the pretty side of love: jewelry, beauty, compassion, sweet stuff. Erzulie Dantor represents the fierce, protective, jealous side of love. Apparently out depiction of her is based on the Black Madonna of Poland, which came to Haiti with the Polish mercenaries Napoleon sent to squash our revolution. They wisely switched sides. That is the Erzulie you see in the picture. Both Erzulies are associated with gay people, Freda with men and Dantor with women.

On the left is a Waterford crystal piece that my sister brought back from Ireland. It is a joy to have - it turns the candlelight into diamonds. Since my partner is Irish, it also represents a new facet of my own life.

Michelangelo's Moses is on the right. It belonged to my grandmother and she designated it be given to me on her passing. I always used to wonder why Moses had horns and I remember asking her when I was little. She wasn't sure. I found out in college that the words for "horns" and "rays of light" are identical in Hebrew, and that it was an issue of mistranslation. She was fascinated when I told her, which is probably why she saved the replica for me. It was always right by the television set. She had curios all over the place. I don't know where she got it.