ex-voto

(2023) Visual research into ex-voto, extracts from my learning journal

(2023) Visual research into ex-voto

“Usually done on canvas or tin, ex-votos generally consist of three basic elements: the illustrative depiction of the event, the narrative, and the depiction of the saint or deity. Variations of this standard form can be seen over time, but the central elements remain the same”. Source: National Library of Medicine

Wax body parts as ex-voti in Elvas, Portugal. Photo by Vasco Célio in an article for Portico Magazine

Some of Frida Kahlo’s paintings are reminiscent of the ex-voto painting style

All About Henry Ford Hospital (The Flying Bed) by Frida Kahlo

(2024) I visit the Azhagar Siddhar Temple at Thennampakkam near Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu, where devotees’ fulfilled prayers are embodied as the donation of votive dolls that represent their wishes (for wealth, career, material aspirations, health etc.). There are thousands of colourful dolls standing at the site, so many fulfilled prayers. A number of them are body parts.