The Chronicles of Ori by Harmonia Rosales

In Chronicles of Ori, acclaimed Afro-Cuban artist Harmonia Rosales brings West African myths vividly to life through the lens of Renaissance and Baroque traditions.

What began as questions from collectors about the stories behind her paintings has now become a sweeping book, charting the journey from the birth of the universe to colonialism, the slave trade and the fight for African independence. At its core are the Orishas, divine beings who gifted humanity with Ori (destiny).

With this work, Rosales reimagines an ancient oral tradition, carrying the Orishas into the modern era and giving their stories a bold, contemporary voice.

Los Angeles-based artist Harmonia Rosales is known for rewriting the master narrative of art history, from the perspective of an Afro-Cuban American woman in the 21st century. Her canvases seamlessly weave the tales and characters rooted in West African Yorùbá religion, Greek mythology and Christianity, with the canonical works and artistic techniques of the European Renaissance. Through her visual storytelling, Rosales presents the notion of human and cultural survival on her own terms. She highlights the beauty and strength of Black people, particularly women, while touching upon grand narratives of creation, tragedy, survival and transcendence.

As a young girl, the impeccable skill and composition of the Renaissance masters fascinated her. But the depiction of white hierarchy and the idealisation of subordinate women, often falling under Eurocentric notions of beauty, dissuaded her passion. Thus, her message is not to create an ideal or simply to copy, but rather to create a sense of harmony between the struggling dichotomies.