Beyond the Ruins- Confession
Oil on Door Panel 32x80”
Beyond the Ruins- Confession
Oil on Door Panel 32x80”
Beyond The Ruins: Confession
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
The central image of “Confession” is the Haitian flag and crest. “Union Fait La Force” translates “Strength in Unity”. The shattering chain below the cannons is symbolic of the breaking of slavery’s bonds in Haitian iconography and is present in the national flag, though I have elevated its prominence here.
Union Fait La Force
I will not attempt to tell you what these paintings are “all about”, as the best pieces of the work came through me and not from me. I invite you into the conversation, eager to learn from what you discover, and offer some ingredients of the imagery as a start to the dialog...
Here are three stages of the painting from summer 2010, winter 2012, and summer 2013.
Woven into the chain itself are iconic images of a slave ship, a diagram of how slaves were packed inhumanely into the hulls of European vessels, and chained masses marching.
This painting is my confession. I am on my face in humility and repentance on behalf of our nation for the guilt we share in the genocide, slavery, greed, and violence that shaped Haiti’s beginning. The flags of Spain, France, Britain, and the United States drape the ruins and rubble of Haiti’s past. May these chains be broken by our authentic confession and restitution, and may we proceed in the strength of reconciled unity. Let the destined potential of Haiti rise radiantly from the rubble!
Here is an early detail of a penitent figure which has been covered by the newly risen Haitian flag.