In her final week on view in New York, Myrlande Constant’s intricate drapo Vodou works illuminate the intersections of spirituality, resilience, and fine art.
Myrlande Constant, Ceromine Bois Caiman, Date unknown. Beads and sequins on fabric, 52 x 82 in. Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort.
This is the last week to experience ‘The Spiritual World of Haiti’, a powerful solo exhibition by Myrlande Constant at Fort Gansevoort in New York. The show celebrates Constant’s singular contribution to Haitian art and spirituality over three decades through her resplendent, hand-beaded drapo Vodou flags.
Since the 1990s, Constant has redefined drapo Vodou, a vernacular art form traditionally made by male artists for ritual use in Vodou temples. Drawing from her teenage years working in a wedding dress factory in Port-au-Prince, Constant brought her mastery of tambour embroidery into this spiritual medium, threading sequins and beads into vivid, narrative textiles. In doing so, she elevated the creative labour of Haitian women and reframed drapo Vodou as both fine art and a feminist statement.
Constant’s richly textured works are not made for temple altars, but rather for museums and galleries across the globe. While recent years of political instability and humanitarian crisis in Haiti have affected her production, she continues to create, seeing the act of artmaking as an act of resistance and resilience.
A Journey in Technique and Narrative
‘The Spiritual World of Haiti’ charts the evolution of Constant’s artistic language—from stark early compositions to increasingly complex and kaleidoscopic visions. The exhibition’s earliest work, Marinette Bois Chèche, created in the 1990s, honours a fiery spirit from Haitian Vodou mythology. Legend tells that Marinette was martyred in the struggle against slavery, and her legacy endures through ritual ceremonies held by bonfires.
In this piece, Constant uses a limited palette of seed and bugle beads—eschewing the typical sequin embellishments—to craft a clean yet emotionally resonant composition. Set against a white background, the scene features simplified figures encircling a central flame, flanked by symmetrical vèvè symbols representing spirits. This work showcases Constant’s early focus on narrative structure, balance, and technical invention.
In contrast, her latest work on view, Devosyon Makaya, is an ambitious 12-foot-wide opus that took three years to complete. Through an exuberant layering of textures and vibrant hues, Constant captures the Haitian ritual of Makaya—a time of spiritual renewal and natural healing. Named after a native tree that marks seasonal change, the ritual is visualised in Constant’s tableau as a bustling convergence of human and divine. A heart with wings and an all-seeing eye—the symbol of Gran Mèt, the supreme Vodou deity—presides over the scene, reminding viewers of the constant presence of the spiritual in daily life.
A Global Force in Contemporary Art
Born in Port-au-Prince in 1968, Myrlande Constant’s career has flourished internationally, especially following her acclaimed solo museum debut, ‘The Work of Radiance,’ at the Fowler Museum at UCLA in 2023. Her work has since been featured in major exhibitions across Europe and North America, including ‘Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art’ at the Barbican in London and the Stedelijk in Amsterdam, and ‘Surrealism and Us’ at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Her monumental flags have also appeared in ‘The Milk of Dreams’ at the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, and most recently, in ‘Spirit and Strength: Modern Art from Haiti’ at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. In 2024, she was honoured with the prestigious Prince Claus Impact Award in Amsterdam, cementing her legacy as one of Haiti’s most influential living artists.
Constant’s work is now held in over 30 public collections worldwide, from the Art Institute of Chicago to the Musée du quai Branly in Paris, a testament to her enduring impact on contemporary art and textile practice.
‘The Spiritual World of Haiti’ is more than a visual spectacle—it’s a testament to art’s spiritual, cultural, and political power in adversity. In Myrlande Constant’s hands, beads and sequins become not only material but message, intricately woven into a vibrant reflection of Haitian identity and resilience.
The exhibition opened on February 27 and will close on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at Fort Gansevoort in New York. For more information, please visit Fort Gansevoort.
