By Nadia Porras
Mixed-media Painting on Canvas: yarn, miniature boats and nautical-themed items, acrylic paint and water color.
Comes stretched (ready to hang)
58in by 40in
In this piece, La Caridad del Cobre is depicted in the sea where, according to legend, she was found by the three
Juanes.
She is covered with a blue cloth full of stars (Stella Maris), evoking the Virgin Mary. The woman, the mother, and
the divinity.
The image of the Virgin, with the mantle in its entirety, takes the shape of a female reproductive
organ. The mother who, with pain, watches her children leave, the broken heart that neither heals nor closes, the
boats representing movement and migration, and the syncretism with Oshun, the goddess of the Yoruba
pantheon.
The prayer is embroidered as if sewn into the skin, like a tattoo that cannot be erased. The
representation of the Holy Grail, with poplar leaves that bloom like spermatozoa, symbolizing the masculine. And
the Holy Trinity, represented by the tree that forms the Grail with three leaves, symbolizing hope and rebirth.
