Mireille Delice

(Léogane, Haiti, 1965 - )

Haitian

Mireille Delice’s career began in 1986, when she was taught sewing and beading techniques by Myrlande Constant, her cousin. This enabled Delice to begin working alongside Constant in Port-au-Prince, at a factory embellishing wedding dresses for export. Soon after the closing of the factory in 1990, Delice recalls having a dream in which she was visited by Vodou spirits (lwa). When relating the dream to her father, an oungan (Vodou priest), he interpreted the message to be from the lwa Erzulie. Erzulie, the spirit of love (among other concepts), is represented in Vodou tradition by a heart, which was the same design that Delice visualized in her dream. This became the design for her first drapo (flag), which she created with beads left over from her time at the factory. 

 

Delice recollects having more than one dream in which spirits visited her. During one of her next dreams, she was delivered the message that, in her words, “I did not have to work in the factory, but I could learn to work for myself and earn for my family.” In 1990, at age twenty-five, she thus decided to begin her life as an independent artist. Delice continued to master her needlework skills by creating more drapo, finding inspiration from her dreams and from Vodou symbols given to her by her father. Delice’s beadwork incorporates vévé designs that represent traditional Vodou deities and are used to explain divinity and give clarity to life's expressions and meanings. Her flags represent her spirituality and are used for guidance, wisdom, and healing. Her bright color combinations add to the mood and spirit of each piece. Since becoming an independent artist, Delice has built a studio in Port-au-Prince, constructed to facilitate the efficient assembly of the beadwork in her drapo, with the collaboration of multiple artist assistants. The artist has broadly described her practice this way: “I start each piece inspired by Haiti’s rich traditions and spiritual heritage. Planning begins by selecting designs that reflect the vévés and spirits central to Vodou, ensuring each creation tells a meaningful story with my own creative touch.”

 

In January 2010, Delice’s hometown was at the epicenter of a massive earthquake, with the artist and her family among the many who were affected by widespread destruction. As the artist explains, “I felt I had to express the disaster in Haiti in my artwork." In 2011, Delice's work Catastrophe du 12 Janvier, a Vodou flag created to depict the crumpled buildings and the bodies of the dead in the aftermath of the earthquake, was part of an exhibit at the Museum of International Folk Art titled The Arts of Survival: Folk Expression in the Face of Natural Disaster. The same work was later exhibited in Kathmandu, Nepal in spring 2022, as part of the Kathmandu Triennale. In addition to the Kathmandu Triennale, Delice’s work has been shown abroad in the United States, Switzerland, and France. Her flags are regularly exhibited in Haiti at Galerie Monnin, Kay Artisans, and Men Nou. She lives with her husband and three children in a residential area of Port-au-Prince.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

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