Baron Lakwa

Artist Myrlande Constant (Haitian, born 1968)

Date2022

Mediumbeads, sequins, and tassels on fabric

Dimensions113 × 110.5 cm (44 1/2 × 43 1/2 in.)

ClassificationsTextiles

Markingsfabric labels for piece in object's storage box, tucked beneath lower mat board

Credit LineMuseum purchase through the Chapin Riley Fund at the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and the Helen Sagoff Slosberg Fund in Honor of Daniel Catton Rich

Object number2023.25

Label TextMyrlande Constant updates the traditional form of Drapo Vodou, ornate flags used in Haitian Vodou ceremonies and temple adornments. Typically, these flags represent myths central to this African diasporic belief system. Constant retains this heritage while incorporating contemporary imagery and increasing the scale of the conventional format. She creates her work using the tambour beading technique, wherein thousands of beads are handstitched onto a taught fabric from underneath. Guided only by a line drawing on the reverse, she is led by intuition and considers her artmaking connected with her spiritual practice. This work reflects the belief within Vodou that the spiritual world and the realm of the living are deeply interconnected. Here, two Vodouyizan (Haitian Vodou practitioners) make offerings to Baron Lakwa, a lwa (spirit) of death and sexuality. He is part of the Gede family of spirits, who are thought to be the souls of the forgotten dead. Skeletons and bones are specific symbols of Baron Lakwa (aka Baron La Croix, Baron of the Cross), while rum, candles, and pipes are more common offerings. (2024)ProvenanceArtist; (Fort Gansevoort, New York); purchased by Worcester Art Museum, 2023.

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