Siren, Serge Jolimeau

Serge Jolimeau transformed a castoff steel drum, likely used to hold oil, into this sculpture of Lasiren, an important lwa (spirit) in Haitian religion. A rusted industrial container hanging in an art museum raises questions about commercialization, commodification, and consumption. How did artistic intervention change the value of the steel barrel? How does the global demand for fuel affect our environment and health? This metal sculpture is one of more than 100 works of 20th-century Haitian art at the Spencer Museum. This area of our collection grew in 2011 when University of Kansas alumna and Spencer docent Mary Lou Vansant Hughes donated paintings, prints, and sculptures that she and her husband Harry purchased while living in Haiti in the 1970s. Serge Jolimeau’s metal sculpture depicts Lasiren, a prominent lwa (spirit) in Haitian Vodou mythology. As supreme ruler of the ocean, Lasiren serves as a portal between ocean and land as well as the material and spiritual worlds. Lasiren also symbolizes fluidity, knowledge, and power. Her half-human, half-fish form has long been used by artists to reference sexuality, religion, and the experiences of enslavement and adapting to new places. – Cécile Accilien, Chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies, Kennesaw State University