"Oya’s Betrayal" by Harmonia Rosales

2020

Oya is the Yoruba deity of storms and transformation.

Los Angeles-based Afro-Cuban artist Harmonia Rosales (b. 1984) draws on the visual styles of Renaissance and Baroque painting as mediums for African and African Diasporic storytelling. Through her paintings, Rosales interprets stories of Yoruban deities known as Orishas.  

Oya’s Betrayal depicts three Orishas: Ogun confronting his wife, Oya, who left him for Shango. This triangle of betrayal and unrequited love started wars amongst the deities in the Orisha Kingdom. These stories, known as patakís, are historically part of an oral tradition. Rosales reimagines oral storytelling traditions by visually rooting them in African symbolism and spirituality.