The Healing Rituals of Ayrson Heráclito
Cover story • ArtNexus
Published in English and Spanish, print issue nº123, December 2024
Heráclito’s works introduce symbols and share knowledge. They explicate some, signpost others. Yet not everything gets explained to the non-initiated—in Candomblé, or in the arts. At the intersection between art and spirituality, a lot dwells in that which is neither disclosed, nor justified. Heráclito’s narratives are shaped by metaphors and their poetic suggestions, employing symbols whose meanings are at times only revealed indirectly, hinted at by associations.
Oxalá, Iemanjá, Oxum, Euá, Nanã, Omulu, Oxumaré, Xangô, Iansã, Exu, Oxóssi, Ossain, Ogum, Logunedé. Pictures may come to mind as these names reverberate. Perhaps vague ideas of their meanings, or detailed facts, symbols, experiences of your own. Perhaps, to some of us, they give nothing away, unpronounceable words. Knowing or not knowing these deities or their meanings is not however a matter of absolute terms. Some Afro-diasporic religions epitomise the condition of those who developed them in displacement: multiple cultures forcibly blended, branching out into equally plural possibilities, their roots not always traceable back generations. Then, Ossain is also Ossayin, Katendê, Agué, even Saint Benedict to some, and their associated elements and narratives are just as varied...
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Captions:
Pictures 1, 2, 3: Ayrson Heráclito. Ofá, Yaô and Mãos from the “Banhistas” (Bathers) series, 2007. Photographies printed with mineral pigments on Canson Rag Photographique 310g / m2, mounted on aluminum. Edition: 2/5 + 2 AP. 65 3/8 x 43 5/16 in. (166 x 110 cm) each. Courtesy: Portas Vilaseca Galeria.
Picture 4: Ayrson Heráclito. Barruequito, 2022. Installation comprises a mirror, glass shelf, and glass containers, water, salt, and palm oil. 23 5/8 x 23 5/8 x 11 13/16 in. (60 x 60 x 30 cm). Courtesy: Portas Vilaseca Galeria
Pictures 5, 6: Ayrson Heráclito. Oxumaré and Lemanjá, 2008-2011. Photographies printed with mineral pigments on Canson Rag Photographique 310g / m2 mounted on aluminium. 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in. (100 x 100 cm) each. Courtesy of the artist
Picture 7: Ayrson Heráclito. Buruburu II, 2013. Photograph printed with mineral pigments on Canson Rag Photographique 310g / m2, mounted on aluminum. Edition: 2/5 + AP. 43 5/16 x 53 15/16 in. (110 x 137 cm). Courtesy: Portas Vilaseca Galeria.
Pictures 8, 9: Ayrson Heráclito. The Cleansing – The meeting of the Atlantic margins, 2015. Video installation. Vídeo, 2 channels, Full HD, color, sound. 8m 38s. Courtesy of the artist.