A deity born of our collective grief
Where do our collective tears, heartbreak, and hopes for better fall to after the end of a tragedy, or the witnessing of a redundant news cycle? Do the cries of millions dissipate into nothingness, or is there a collective charge of Justice answering our cries in a realm that surrounds us?
This watercolour painting called “Grief Eater / Good Mourning” is a deity born out of our collective—and (by design) displaced—grief. More than curiosity-invoking, Grief Eater also serves as a backpiece design for anyone ready for armour.
The symbols we wear on our skin can serve as a visual and spiritual impenetrable force to wear into an unknown future. This deity, the Grief Eater, is shown at its tethered time of day: the Good Mourning.
Wading in a pool of our collective tears, it slithers through any psychic or spiritual barriers placed upon generations of those in close relationship with Mother Earth and our inherent good.
From its heart comes a conch shell, symbol of liberation.
From its heart comes a conch shell, symbol of liberation. At its right side are locusts representing death and misfortune, genocide by design. At its left side there are butterflies and lotuses representing regeneration of new life.
The very touch of Grief Eater’s body in the salt waters transmorphs these realities—the answer to our calls, to our tears that hit the soil and water the earth. Grief Eater’s three heads are born of Afro Futurism, Afro Surrealism and Afro Pessimism. Three big stages of grief are necessary to feel and transmute: Sadness on the left, Acceptance in the centre, and Rage on the very right.
Armour of philosophy, adornment, and a symbol for you to call on in your time of need. Shed a tear while looking into Grief Eater’s three heads, which stare back and destroy what destroys you. Psychic and spiritual armour for your soul. Matriarchal revenge for Mother Earth and for you as an extension of her.
