During my exchange at BSDC Berlin, I took the course Fine Art Photography. Inspired by the choice of one of the Lwa spirits from Haitian Vodou, we were assigned to create a triptych.
I chose Ghede Masaka, the Lwa of both death and fertility, who is also a fraternal twin. Ghede Masaka embodies the duality of life and death, symbolized by carrying a bag of leaves that represents both growth and decay.
I used natural elements like leaves and twigs that I collected from the ground, along with a braid I created myself, which I cut afterward. My goal was to incorporate these natural materials to represent the power of the Lwas and connect with the symbolic meaning of their bag of leaves.
I used my mom and aunt, who are fraternal twins, as the subjects. This choice was deeply. personal, as my aunt was battling cancer at the time, that turned out to be terminal. The project reflects the tension between life and death, drawing on the hope for recovery and the bond between my mom and aunt. Through Ghede Masaka, I wanted to honor this connection and the resilience of my family.
