by Aisling D'Art
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Now and then, I create a piece that's strictly in the "outsider art" category.
This is one of those pieces.
The concept was to mix Voodoo and Dia de los Muertos imagery, using a standard wooden bird house as the "canvas."
I started by painting the house black. Over the black paint, I used gold spray and wax/leaf paints, and some copper spray paint.
I replaced the perch with a white plastic bone. Yes, it looks a little phallic. *shrug*
On the front of the bird house, there are several Voodoo/Vodou designs, including the snake in the Tree of Life, over the opening.
The plastic skeleton glows in the dark. The three blue skulls are Dia de los Muertos beads from Mexico, representing the Holy Trinity. Likewise, the candles and marigold images are also Dia de los Muertos traditions. The marigold petals leading to the bird house entry are symbolic of leading the spirit back home.
click on image to see it larger
On the back of the bird house, I painted a white skull and more Voodoo-type symbols. The little gaucho figure is from Mexico. His head is a Dia de los Muertos bead, smiling. He's pretty funky. I like him a lot. His body is represented by a handwoven serape-looking garment, over a wire form.
On the sides of the bird house, I painted four candles, which are also Dia de los Muertos traditions, leading the spirits home. There are more Voodoo symbols in white, too.
Atop the bird house, a white flocked plastic skeleton sits with a merry top hat and eyes that roll around when you move him. He's there in the tradition of Baron Samedi, with a tip of the hat to the Dia de los Muertos traditions, too.
I mean no disrespect of the Vodou, Voodoo, Native, and Latino traditions. On the contrary, I hope that the imagery reflects the light, hope-based beliefs of the Dia de los Muertos, as well as the multi-dimensional characteristics of the spirits honored by Vodou and Voodoo, and visited upon their followers.
Technical notes: Although the black paint reflected bluish in the photos, it's simply a glossy black paint, highlighted with gold, that covers the bird house.
The paints are mostly acrylics. The piece is signed on the bottom. It was completed in September 2000, and placed for sale in eBay, where it was purchased by a happy collector in California.