Abstract
The chapter explores the visual poetics of Lemonade in relation and connection to the orisha Oshún, the revered Yoruba deity of strength and perseverance. Oshún provides an entry point to the discussion of vernacular expressions of Atlantic spirituality, the importance of divination and praise poetry in evoking empowerment through the semiotics of fire, water, performance and vocality. The chapter argues that Lemonade is an attestation and celebration of cross-Atlantic aesthetic currents which are experienced by the viewer, listener, orisha devotee, and secular audience in deeply impactful ways.
This chapter explores Oshun and her waters and how they are possibly reflected in Beyonce’s masterpiece, demonstrating how an Afro-Atlantic religion, its goddess, praises, and tales are central tenets, with its deities making appearances in the mainstream through the inspired work of artists, in new and imaginative ways. It looks at Oshun, the transatlantic goddess of survival and elegance, and how Beyonce and Lemonade can be read in terms of nuanced ideas of Oshun’s sumptuous symbolism, her adroit bravery, and reflections on the need to connect these seemingly inchoate dots. It. Oshun is the orisha of fresh, or sweet, running water, delineating her from Yemayá, who is deemed the original owner of all forms and sources of water and often shorthanded as owner of vast expanses such as the sea. This tells part of the story of Oshún as she is indeed the owner of sweet waters, but also all that it entails.