This title is derived from Mary Lou Williams’ hymn of a similar name, Black Christ of the Andes, written in honor of St. Martin de Porres, the Peruvian Dominican friar who in 1962 became the first person of African descent to be canonized by the Catholic church. Visually, this scene is modeled after a deconstructed cathedral. Here, the saintly niches are horizontal rather than vertical, protruding toward the viewer rather than away. The altar, which houses the Eucharist and is only accessible to the priest and altar servers, is moved to the center of the space and rendered with a non-specular black hue, in the form of a mirrored digital figure. The voice of Avery Brooks emanates from this messianic figure, reciting the closing eulogy from Ossie Davis’ play Purlie Victorious. The entire architecture of the scene is constructed using a digital representation of a Congo power figure, which traditionally represents a mobile and communal symbol of the sacred and embodiment of healing spirits.
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