Full of whimsy and vibrant, almost electric color, the figures in “Orisa! Orisha! Orixa!” don’t just hang on the wall—they stare back. Their wide, expressive eyes pull you in, inviting viewers of all ages to connect with something ancient, yet entirely present.
Currently on view at the Lyndon House Arts Center through Oct. 11, the exhibition introduces the Orishas, divine spirits rooted in West African religion and echoed throughout the African diaspora. A reading of Christopher Swain’s children’s book O is for Orisha will take place in conjunction with Family Day art workshops on Aug. 9, 12–2 p.m., where participants can make art inspired by the exhibition.
Curated by Swain, public art program coordinator of the city of East Point, the exhibition is both a celebration of spirituality and a tribute to its Havana-based artist, Victor Francisco Hernandez Mora, who’s also a longtime friend.
“The curation of this particular exhibition came just by happenstance because the paintings all belong to me,” Swain says. “I bought them as a result of when I was putting together my book, O is for Orisha, and Victor Mora was the perfect candidate with illustrations to fit my words. He sold me all the paintings with the promise that I would never sell them.”
Their friendship began during a trip to Havana, where Swain first encountered Mora’s illustrations at a local art market. Mora wasn’t there, but his work left an impression. The two connected on social media.
“I told him my vision for the book,” Swain says. “That it’s a children’s book to explain the mythology of this practice, then he was all in. Victor loves children—teaching them how to paint and draw. So when he found out what I was doing, we immediately started having negotiations around how much he would sell the paintings for.”
Swain returned to Cuba in 2018 to pick up the illustrations. “We drove immediately from the airport straight to the coffee shop [to meet Mora],” he says. “He was standing in front of the doorway with his arms wide open, ready to greet me with a big hug. What started as a business transaction has turned into family,” he says. “Victor is like a brother to me.”
“Orisa! Orisha! Orixa!” features Mora’s visual interpretations of Orishas. A multifaceted artist and devout practitioner of Santeria, a syncretic Afro-Cuban religion that blends Yoruba traditions with elements of Catholicism, Mora’s work is connected through his signature use of color and fantastical elements.
Each figure represents a force of nature or aspect of human experience, such as love, motherhood or wisdom. The figures are presented in richly detailed portraits, with bold lines and kaleidoscopic palettes that blend folkloric tradition with Mora’s contemporary artistic lens. Some Orishas are adorned with flowing garments, seashells or blades, their gazes intense, playful or serene—subject to interpretation.
“What I find most amazing is how mythology is woven through all cultures—it’s basically the same character, but it’s just suited to fit that particular ethnic group,” Swain says. “I think [the exhibition is] an opportunity to teach people that this mythology is something that is very prevalent on the continent of Africa as well.”
For Swain, the exhibition is also the result of a much longer journey—one shaped by travel, history and a search for connection. An avid collector of tribal African art, he’s traveled the world for more than 25 years visiting countries like Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso and Kenya, to name a few.
“It’s just showing how people are connected and how they have these common belief systems that have sustained them since the beginning of time,” he says.
At its core, the exhibition is a celebration of the shared human spirit—how belief, resilience and culture connect us across time and place.
“No matter what happens in the world or how crazy things get, people can lean into what they’ve always known and it just sustains them and keeps them together, keeps them united,” he says. “Overall, the takeaway from all of this, for me, is that as people we’re all more alike than we are different.”
WHAT: Family Day Book Reading
WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 9, 12–2 p.m.
WHERE: Lyndon House Arts Center
HOW MUCH: FREE!
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