


In these sequential self-portraits and site-specific installation, it was important to the artist to depict the serpent as a benign protector and mediator.

#Santa marta la dominadora skin#
What else would I call onto to devour this sickness within me? It was the serpent.”Īs the serpent represents rebirth, being uncomfortable in your skin and being forced to grow, it has been a powerful tool for healing in Audrya’s life. She IS the serpent and she comes to dominate what you ask her to dominate. She’s not like Santa Marta Dominadora she isn’t coming to defeat a serpent or dominate it. “I read about what represented, it struck a chord. That’s when she came across Filomena Lubana. Flores explained that most catholic saints and deities have synchronized representations within other religions. As Flores became enthralled with the image of the serpent, she learned about how Santa Marta Dominadora had been portrayed and rendered in other religions. In folklore, Santa Marta Dominadora was the only female dragon/snake slayer and is popular in Hoodoo for the domination and control of problems, situations, and people in the lives of practitioners. It was during a guided imagery intervention that Flores fixated on the image of Santa Marta Dominadora in one of her candles.
#Santa marta la dominadora professional#
With a recurring visual vocabulary of a serpent, the artist addresses trauma, mental health, and issues of identity within her work.īeing very transparent about her battle with depression and anxiety, Audrya Flores opened up to us about her professional counseling, therapeutic practices, and an extensive collection of religious candles.

In her solo exhibition, Digging, on view at the Central Library gallery, Flores repurposes textiles and organic materials to create six self-portraits and a floor piece. However, for San Antonio based artist, Audrya Flores, the serpent represents a creative life force, rebirth, transformation, but most importantly healing. Aside from being highly scared of them, I attribute this association with my religious upbringing. Her association with Santa Marta is logical.When I first think about snakes, I immediately think of serpents as a symbol of evil power and chaos from the underworld. She is one of the few warrior females that uses traditional weapons like the sword and the whip. Oya is a union of opposites, represented simultaneously by the darkness and the rainbow of nine different colors. She is change, the tornado, the mysteries of the Dead. Understanding her complexities is like trying to catch the wind. Oya is one of the most elusive Orisha in many ways. It is in this aspect that Santa Marta la Dominadora becomes like the ancient Ouroboros or Uroborus, the serpent or dragon that eats its own tail, until nothing, not even a carcass is left.” It is clear that this is an intense and powerful force, not to be contacted lightly. Often these very individuals who work Santa Marta la Dominadora for these wicked intentions pay the high price, often illnesses reach them, early deaths fall upon their loved ones, they become mentally unstable, and paranoid. (One can not cover up the sky with one finger, or burying your head in the sand /ignoring the gravity of a situation, or wilfully ignore something.). Again this reminds me of a Spanish proverb, Uno no puede tapar el cielo con solo un dedo. The blog’s creator Sancista Brujo Luis explains ” As a Sancista it is my responsibility to inform you that many experienced individuals invoke Santa Marta La Dominadora for black magic, sorcery, enchantments, evil intentions and unleashing evil spirits or demons on rivals. The associates her with the loa, or divinities, Simbi and Damballa, because of her association with snakes. Here she is a Queen of the dead, dancer in the cemetery, screeching howl of the wind. Some Espiritismo temples or houses honor Santa Marta La Dominadora, or Saint Martha the Dominator. Her feast day is July 29 th and she is the patron saints of cooks and servants. In the Catholic faith Santa Marta is often pictured with a dragon or with serpents at her feet.
