For centuries, the image type of the “Black Madonna” has been deeply rooted in Christian popular belief, and even today, believers make pilgrimages to these images of grace, which can be found all over the world, but especially in Europe. In the spirit of this tradition, I am looking for new content for this old type of image in my work “Nocturna”.
The title Nocturna (Latin: nocturnal) is a metaphor for the dark, the hidden, the mysterious. In contrast to her models, however, this Madonna is actually “black”, for her facial features point to an African origin. For humans as visual beings, colours have always had a strong symbolic power. Black, for example, represents the bad, the evil, while the colour white stands for purity and the good. According to this principle, people are often judged by the colour of their skin. The question of the “right” skin colour was and still is the reason for hatred, persecution and wars. It determines social status and economic success within societies.
With this work I would like to honour the “black Madonna” as a holy woman of colour.
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