Wearing Honor

For this image made of a man in Oaxaca in 2023, I wanted to chronicle what I observed while traveling in Mexico. Díá de los Muertos, or  Day of the Dead, is celebrated to honor and welcome the departed. The community gathers to honor their beloved, who had passed away.

People paint themselves and help others paint bold colors on their faces. There is music, traditional dancing, and the performance of rituals, both personal and universal. Acknowledging and bowing to the unknown mystery of life beyond the physical one we share on planet Earth connects and unifies all of us.

While I love the bouquets people carry and give to others or lay with special delicacy to form riotous floral mounds of color and texture; some men wear their tributes on their heads. I found these men with flower hats captivating. In their dress and behavior, I had a vision of the time when, free of this body and its burdens, my spirit with be wed to all sentiment beings, stones, water, wind, fire—and flowers.

AVAILABLE SIZES:
24 x 32 inches (60.96 x  81.28 cm) 
30 x 40 inches (76.2   x  101.6 cm)
40 x 53 inches (101.6 x 134.62 cm)

Limited Edition