Migration of the Gods

The Migration of the Gods represents the transatlantic slave trade, and how the gods and the Yoruba religion survived through the African diaspora. The figures of the orishas, or representations of them in colorful wrappings, are carried on the backs and in the arms of African ancestors.

Eve, dressed in red on the left, is poised on the land representing America. She looks at the background towards the looming edifice of Elmina, one of the principle depots of the transatlantic slave trade in present-day Ghana. Adam, also wearing red, is seen in the boat protecting the ancestral figures. The landmass to the right is Brazil, identified by the distinctive peak of Rio de Janeiro’s Sugarloaf Mountain. Here, Yemayá opens her arms to embrace the survivors of the Middle Passage.

Exhibitions