I had the pleasure of creating the cover illustration for the April 2022 Isele Magazine quarterly (The Reborn Issue). In this article, I will explain the meaning and symbolism behind the illustration. The illustration designThe quarterly's reborn theme focused on re-telling folktales or reinventing conventional ideas in new and surprising ways. To that effect, the cover illustration features a Black woman in front of a solar monstrance whose cross is replaced with an African artefact. She is seated in a lotus pose. Her afro is adorned with lotus flowers. She is surrounded by light of different wavelengths (blue, white, pink/red-ish). SymbolismThe illustration is filled with symbolism. The solar monstrance ties together religiosity and paganism and symbolizes the moment before the rebirth. The cross has been replaced with an African artefact to symbolize the growing movement of Africans reclaiming their cultures post-colonisation. The lotus pose and flowers symbolize regeneration, and the light symbolizes transcendence. Individual elements: the monstranceThe monstrance, also known as an ostensorium, is used to hold, carry, and display the eucharist in Catholic churches. They come in many different designs and are often heavily ornamented (although, more recent designs have been relatively minimalistic). Historically, the most popular design used to be the tower, but solar monstrances took over when Christian missionaries went to South America, found the Aztecs and other native peoples practising sun worship, and consequently merged the sun worship elements into Christianity in a bid to entice the local populations to convert. (Christianity is currently the most widely practised religion in South America, and majority of these Christians are Catholics.) Individual elements: the African ornamentMonstrances are usually topped with a cross. However, the monstrance in the illustration is topped with an African ornament. There were many inspirations for the ornament, but I'd like to highlight the Mbulu Ngulu reliquary figures that were carved by the Kota people of Gabon. These were guardian figures, and they were attached to a container holding the remains of a loved one after their death. This religious practice of venerating family members was known as Bwete in the Kota language. When missionaries and other colonial agents landed in Gabon, they stole whatever they could carry and torched the rest. These guardian figures are among the items that were stolen, and they were taken to museums in Europe & US where they're currently on display. Some of the figures were traded and auctioned off. Upon seeing the interest in these figures in the art scene, white artists started replicating them for sale leading to the rise of fakes. Individual elements: the lotus flowersIn the illustration, the woman has lotus flowers adorning her afro. Lotus plants (Nelumbo nucifera) are fascinating. They grow in floods. Not all seeds sprout though, and when it dries out, the remaining seeds stay dormant until it next floods. These seeds can remain dormant for an extremely long time, and some have been recorded to grow after being dormant for 1000+ years! Because of this, people across many different cultures worship this plant as a signifier of regeneration, enlightenment, and even life after death. There's a lot of art in Indian, Chinese, and ancient Egyptian cultures, amongst others, that depict the lotus plant. For example, in this painting below by Raja Ravi Varma, Lakshmi, a Hindu goddess, is standing on a lotus and holding lotus flowers, and the elephants behind her are also holding lotus flowers. Aside from the lotus, I was also inspired by the Egyptian lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) which is actually a water lily despite the name. The Egyptian lotus also has similar legend around it, but this one is especially concentrated in Eastern Africa. The flowers of the Egyptian lotus rise to the surface over 2-3 days, open in the mid-morning, and close at dusk; which may have led to the legend that the flowers rise above the water in the morning and submerge at night. Egyptians practised sun worship, making the legend of the Egyptian lotus flowers even more important to them. They even taught that the origin of the world was when Ra, the sun god, emerged from this flower. The flower was also the symbol of the diety Nefertem. The Egyptian lotus comes in many colours. Support my workI was excited when I read the theme of the The Reborn Issue and I hope you all have a good time reading what we curated. You can support my work by clicking the button below to tip me on my Ko-Fi.
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