MeCo Visions

Madonna Rising—Dia de los Muertos Street Art

 The Madonna is often displayed on Dia de los Muertos alters.  It is believed she will assist in communication with dead loved ones.  In my painting I’ve featured her as graffiti, placed on an old brick wall. She is clothed in purple, symbolizing mourning. A raven flying past the wall delivers marigolds to her.  The marigolds will then guide the dead’s spirit to their loved ones through both their aromatic scent, and vibrant golden color—a color featured on the Madonna’s halo and carried throughout the painting.

My Southern Louisiana roots are steeped in the many forms of “speaking to our dead”.  Thus, Dia de los Muertos was easily tucked in to my ritual of celebrating my deceased loved ones.  I knew I wanted to incorporate the Madonna in a Dia de los Muertos painting, but it wasn’t until I had the privilege of visiting Italy for the first time that the vision of this painting began to take form.  While I was surrounded by ancient, and amazing works of arts, it was the street art that most inspired me.  When I came upon a graffiti piece in Venice and discovered it was created by Banksy, the vision for this painting was complete.

It has become tradition that I dress to match my painting.  Here are some of the photos from past exhibits.