Rara Series

Djinn began painting her ‘Rara’ series to feature in a solo exhibition at the BOZAR (Centre for Fine Arts) in Brussels in July/August 2021. The Rara, is a traditional procession with African and Taino roots, still very much alive in Haiti today. Every year during lent, a procession of musicians bring the street to life, gathering people around voodoo rites in an act of celebration and rejoicing that allows people to throw-off the shackles of an often painful daily life. The result is a joyous cascade of shapes, forms, colours and sounds. It's a subject that has been used by artists of every generation in Haiti because of its richness and profound historical and cultural resonance, but Djinn used this opportunity to bring her own touch to this fascinating topic, and has continued to be inspired by the theme in her painting, since the Brussels exhibition.

A particular powerful example of this series was inspired by the battle of Vertières - the last major battle of the Haitian revolution, where Napoleon's forces were defeated and slavery overthrown - paving the way to the birth of the world's first Black repubic. In this work, the artist is depicting the tumult of emotions from this momentous event, including terror, violence and death, but also rebirth, pride, joy and deliverance.