The Veneration of Global Beauty
My interpretation of one of the many Orisha of the Yoruban (an African tribe) mythology, this is the Aja, the goddess of healing, and respected as the patron deity of the forest and animals that reside within it. She possesses extensive (medical) knowledge regarding botany, and is regarded as the original being who passed the knowledge of such to the Yoruba people.
The thought of Japanese mythology in mind bore the creation of my take on the goddess Konohanasakuyahime. The daughter of the mountain God Ohoyamatsumi, and wife of Ninigi, grandson of Amaterasu, Konohanasakuyahime (or Sakuyahime for short) is, as her namesake, also the Japanese goddess of cherry blossoms and along with Mt. Fuji, as well as a representation of the concept of "earthly life". After bearing three sons for Ninigi, she was accused of adultery due to the quickness of her pregnancy. Angry, but determined to prove her children's lineage, she placed them in a hut that she would set fire to, and claimed that no harm would come unto the children of they were truly Ninigi's own. Luckily for her—and the children—they were unscathed, and Konohanasakuyahime had proved the truth.
In the spirit of Hindu mythology is my rendition of the Indian goddess Saraswati. Originally a river goddess in the Rigveda texts, Saraswati is the daughter of gods Shiva and Durga, and now commonly the goddess of music, wisdom, art, and learning. Her four hands represent the four aspects of human personality in learning, which are mind, intellect, alertness, and ego. She is traditionally depicted holding sacred scripture in one hand and the white lotus, the symbol of "true knowledge", in another, as well as playing the veena instrument.
After a day of researching northern European mythology, the inspiration to recreate the Slavic goddess Lada. The goddess of beauty and fertility (though generally the former), Lada is also one of the divine counterpart of the god Lado. According to history. Alongside her brother, she was commonly invoked during harvests and wedding ceremonies—a testament to the Russian etymology of her name, which means “harmony”, “peace”, or “union” respectively.
“Primarily, the theme of my work about portraying the sophisticated beauty of womxn, indiscriminate of their race or ethnicity. The way I convey this is by creating illustrations of womxn as fictional characters in the symbolic likeness of their respective cultural/historical figures, with an emphasis on fashion and beauty elements associated with the subject figure. As I am also African American, I do take great pride in my creations of black women—the most underrepresented group in art—as I want my work to also function as a tool of knowledge to encourage others to learn and study African history and culture, and serve as an inspiration and point of reference for my fellow artists.”
Submitted by Tianna Morris.
