The one thing that makes the city of Salvador in Brazil different from the rest of Brazil is its mark of colonialization. Salvador looks like a city in Portugal and it is known by its black population and cultural heritage because, during the slave trade, more than 40.000 slaves where brought to this city. To show his aspect of the city, Jelena searched for the way to represent it and finally found it in a sculpture in the city, representing the goddess Yemaya.
Yemaya, a goddess of the Yoruba religion, was brought from Africa to Salvador. The idea of her and her protection travelled across the ocean and gave hope where there was none. Besides the portrait of Yemaya as imagined by the artist, the painting contains all the symbols representing this goddess. The title of the painting comes from the way this goddess is summoned – Omio Yemaya.
