Vodun

Voodoo priest or Shaman

Vodun is a large body of work that incorporates installation (see Presence of Absence), video and photography accomplished in dark purple and orange undertones on 35mm film in West Africa, Benin, and Burkina Faso during or after the Voodoo Festival end of 2010/beginning 2011.

Orange is the color of the African soil and purple refers to the mysticism and magic practiced by the Vodoo priests and ceremonial happenings.

The video Downtown, 2012, is part of a larger body of work titled Vodun.

This video work captures traditional celebrations and rituals around the subject of death. Going in and out of focus, mainly in the dark, film instead of portraying something menacing provides an insight into traditional celebrations and offerings that date back to centuries. It also presents traditions in West Africa today. A gathering of the village is taking place to commemorate the death of someone who has passed away. It shows silhouettes of men and women at night dancing with the fast-paced, upbeat rhythmic drum and harshly cuts into another scene of a goat being skinned. 

The video leaves it open to interpretation which one out of two is actually a ritual, perhaps both; raises discussion around flesh, death, and ways of celebrating it.

The Downtown has been filmed by Jose Buera/Iulia Filipovscaia and edited by Iulia Filipovscaia and is part of a series of work titled Vodun (2010-2012)