Lotions, Potions, Orishas And Saints On View At Library

Photo Sophia C. Vackimes Obatala, or Virgen de la Merced, Sonora Market, Mexico City, 1998, from Botánica! Lotions, Potions, Orishas and Saints.

Jars filled with ritual objects, Chinese herbs and remedies, seeds for incantations, ointments, oils and spicy fragrances, images of ancestral spirits carved in wood, or made out of plaster and plastic all explore the essence of the neighborhood botánica in a small retail shop, increasingly common in New York’s Latino and Caribbean neighborhoods. It is a supply center of sorts where religious practitioners, artisans and religious priests and priestesses of different beliefs shop for ceremonial goods. For many, the purchase of botánica goods is just as commonplace as going to the market for food is for others. For many of these people, the practice of religious beliefs takes place in people’s living rooms or garages and coexists in most cases with the practice of Catholicism. Moreover it is a practice full of expectation, respect and joy. The color photographs on display in Botánica! explore the wonders found inside these shops, showcasing objects and describing their cultural function.

Exhibit curator Sophia C. Vackimes will present a talk and slide show highlighting this interesting cultural and religious phenomenon on Saturday, Jan. 13th at 2 p.m. in the Flushing Library auditorium on the lower level. Vackimes’ discussion will include the development of religious beliefs in Mexico, indigenous customs, including folk medicine and traditional remedies, Catholicism and its adaptation to the Americas, the African Disapora and Yoruba religion and Santeria in Mexico, as well as new Age rituals and popular culture. Admission to both the exhibit and program is free.

Botánica! is on view through Jan. 29th at the International Resource Center Gallery located on the third floor of the Flushing Library, 41-17 Main Street. Via subway, take the number 7 Train to the last stop (Roosevelt Avenue/Main Street). Upon exiting the subway terminal, walk toward and underneath the nearby train trestle. For more information, call (718) 661-1230.