White Lion

The White Lion of 1619 captures Eve, taking her from her homeland and cultural identity. Oba and Oshun beckon the snarling beast to return Eve to her ancestral roots, while Yemayá is resigned to the knowledge that the greed of colonialism is upon them. All she can do is accompany Eve and her ancestors in their minds and hearts across the Atlantic.

The painting turns Jean-François de Troy’s Abduction of Europa from a Greek mythological tale of Zeus’s unbridled passion and deceptions to one of horror awaiting the first Africans forced onto the White Lion slave ship bound for the English colony of Virginia in 1619. Eve’s luminous red robe shimmers as she is swept away by the creature. Twenty-four karat gold leaf forms the acanthus-like pattern of the dress, emulating Renaissance fabrics with metallic threads.

Exhibitions