Offering

The series, entitled What Came Over the Waters, began as an offering to the deity of the seas, the Yoruban orisha known by many names and worshipped throughout Africa and the Afro-Caribbean world: Yemoja, Yemaya, Maman de L’eau, or Mami Wata. For this offering we sought out fruits that were part of the so-called “Columbian Exchange,” including sugarcane, citrus, mangoes, pineapple, and plantain; the history of these naturalized plants also speaks to a hidden narrative of colonial exploitation.