CENTRAL FINE

Ayiti Toma III: Spiraling, Silence, & Sirènes

Organized by Tomm El-Saieh

November 24th until January 14th,2025.

Pre-Basel Reception , Sunday, December 1st, 6-8pm

Artists in the presentation:

Frankétienne, Georges Liautaud , Pierrot Barra , Antoine Oleyant Gérard Fortuné , Myrlande Constant, Maksaens Denis, Eviland LaLanne, Frantz Zéphirin, Hervé Sabin, Viktor El-Saieh, Tomm El-Saieh, Schneider Léon Hilaire, Mark Fleuridor, Josué Azor, Frantz Jacques /Guyodo

In Spiraling, Silence, & Sirènes, the interplay of spiritual, cultural, and historical narratives finds expression through an intergenerational dialogue of Haitian art. 

Building upon Ayiti Toma II: Faith, Family, & Resistance, currently on view at Luhring Augustine Tribeca, expanding the narrative of survival and transformation, central to Haitian creativity.  By weaving together the works of both historical and contemporary artists—Spiraling, Silence, & Sirènes and Faith, Family, & Resistance; reveal Haiti’s artistic traditions and the ability to re-imagine the present while  honoring the past.

At the heart of this presentation are Haiti’s Vodou spirits: La Sirène, Ogou Feray, Bossou, and Aida Wedo. These Haitian cosmological spirits act as guides, their layered meanings reflected in the works of the exhibition’s artists.

CENTRAL FINE becomes a space for meditation on Haitian spirituality, its intersections with political history, and the ways in which it informs personal and collective identities. The presentation is in itself an immersive experience. Tomm El-Saieh created a sand pit, or Zen Garden in an interactive action where the floors of the gallery have been covered in sand, bringing the beach into the gallery, while also signaling the ground of a Vodou temple. On that sand, the audience can draw symbols,forms, and shapes, evoking the Veves —symbols drawn on the earth of a Vodou temple, to invoke a certain spirit.

At the center of the main room, an 8 foot tall Afrofuturistic sculpture by the artist Frantz Jacques aka Guyodo, acts as a Potomitan(central pillar). The Potomitan is an essential structural support of the hounfour (temple) in Haitian Vodou. . The Potomitan takes the form of a decorated wooden post (occasionally a living tree) by means of which, it is believed, the Lwa (Spirits) descend to Earth to inhabit, for a time, the bodies of the faithful through mounting. 

Flags|Drapo, with their veves embroidered, and reflective surfaces, activate the space and invite us to enter the realm of the mythological. Although these flags have not been initiated, they embody the main principles of Vodou- Love, Knowledge, Work, and Defense.

The works of Frankétienne, the celebrated poet, painter, and philosopher, provide a conceptual anchor for the exhibition. His painting Solidaire reflects his enduring belief in unity and resistance, while his Spiralist philosophy offers a framework for understanding the cyclical, chaotic energy that animates Haitian art. As he writes in Adjanoumelezo:

“All of my BODY is a VEVE, All of my DREAMS are PATHS.”

This evocative metaphor situates Haitian creativity as both deeply personal and universally transcendent—a process of continual movement, regeneration, and reflection.

The exhibition draws particular focus to La Sirène, the Vodou spirit of the sea, transformation, and mystery. Her presence permeates the works of Georges Liautaud, whose cut-metal sculpture captures her enigmatic allure, and Viktor El- Saieh, whose paintings Siren Anba and Se toune’l toune explore her tempestuous and nurturing dimensions. Antoine Oleyant is commemorated here with his two Drapo dedicated to La Sirène, amplifying her connection to music, water, and mystery.

Frantz Zéphirin, in his surrealist style, offers three small paintings of La Sirène, blending spiritual and natural motifs, while Schneider Léon Hilaire creates Celebration for La Sirène Diamant and Agwe, a luminous portrayal of La Sirène’s union with Agwe, the maritime spirit of abundance and balance.

Bossou, the Vodou spirit of strength and protection, stands as another vital presence.  Represented in Drapo by Antoine Oleyant and Myrlande Constant, Bossou’s raw energy finds further expression in Maksaens Denis’ video installation, which fuses traditional imagery with modern technology to create a dialogue between the past and present —Electrifying the protective and grounding qualities of this bull-like spirit, whose energy is both stabilizing and fierce.

The inclusion of Ogou Feray, the warrior spirit of labor and justice, offers a counterpoint to the fluidity of La Sirène. Eviland LaLanne’s three Drapo Vodou flags dedicated to Ogou, highlight the role as a protector and fighter, embodying resilience and fortitude. Reminding us that the spiritual world in Haitian Vodou is not merely otherworldly; it is deeply embedded in the struggles and triumphs of daily life. The narrative deepens with the contributions of Hervé Sabin, Mark Fleuridor, and Gérard Fortuné. 

Sabin’s Flag The Ideals of the Emperor: Universal Freedom and Equality! reimagines Haiti’s national flag to honor Jean-Jacques Dessalines, invoking his vision of justice and freedom for all and Fleuridor’s Nenen’s Garden, Where Her Pye Rests, a mixed-media quilt, interweaves personal history with collective memory, evoking the maternal and generational threads that sustain Haitian culture.

Gerard  depicts  Damballah, the spirit of creation and fertility. Smoking, Half Human, Half Snake, with a friend urinating.Humor and Hope are one in these works.

Josué Azor uses photography and Drapo techniques to address LGBTQI+ narratives within Haitian cultural frameworks, positioning these identities as integral to the nation’s evolving story. 

Guyodo, with his inventive La Siren ballpoint pen drawing on deconstructed cereal box and radical sculpture, offers a modern, hybridized vision of Haitian spirituality, blending folkloric and contemporary elements. 

Ayiti Toma II & III embrace the cyclical and interconnected nature of life and Art. The invisible ones transcend individual works, uniting the artists and viewers in a collective meditation on survival and renewal. Hybrids, in particular, thread through the exhibition as both a literal and metaphorical presence, guiding the viewer through the depths of Haitian identity. As Frankétienne writes:

“The words of La Sirène threading a necklace of stars to decorate the sky and the sea on a fragile canoe tearing through a riot of colors—intense, imprinted, unmistakable, and unrelenting.”

Through this poetic lens,  Ayiti Toma III: Spiraling, Silence, & Sirènes becomes  a lived experience—an observation on creativity’s ability to thrive amidst chaos.

By bringing together historical artists —Frankétienne, Liautaud and Oleyant, with contemporary innovators like Constant and Denis, Hilaire , along with voices like Azor and Fleuridor, that challenge traditional narratives, they evoke the power of the past with reinvention, necessary to survive in the present.