“The work began in the Poconos Mountains, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 2020. I was painting and a leaf fell onto my watercolor – it was a calling. Throughout the following year, I explored different forests in the U.S. and Brazil, searching for leaves that could create a wonderful beauty over my watercolor, and then I took photos of these combinations. This was the inspiration to tell the myth of Ossanhe through leaf paintings,” says Castaneda.
Healing Leaves: The Myth of Orisha Ossanhe (the Afro-Brazilian deity of healing and mystery), by Brazilian artist Luzia Castaneda, is a series of 16 photographs and 21 paintings that explain the Afro-Brazilian myth of two orixás—Ossanhe and Xangô—who both wish to possess the healing powers of leaves.
This exhibition was made possible with public funds from the Queens Art Funds, a grant pass-through program supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts.DetailsLocation: Queens Botanical Garden (43-50 Main St, Flushing)Date: October 7 to November 26