After looking through a number of Chong’s works, it was clear that several of his installations involved duck feathers – including Winged Evocations, Throne for the Third Millennium, Sunday Dinner for the Ancestors, and Substitute Sacrifice. The description of Substitute Sacrifice explains that the 100 pounds of duck feathers that adorn the floor around a cross represent the number of birds necessary for a ritual to cleanse the cross for its role in oppressing and enslaving African people. Generally, Chong’s installation work explores mysticism and religion across cultures, traversing Christianity to Santeria to Rastafari. In Substitute Sacrifice, he is looking critically at how “christianizing of enslaved Africans was seen as one of the justifications for slavery.”
The duck feathers are likely a nod to Santeria sacrificial rituals, in which followers sacrifice animals (commonly chickens and ducks) for their mortal deities, Orishas, to sustain them. Typically, they then eat the meat (the Orisha only consumes the blood) in an act of sharing with them.
Chong’s own relationship with Santeria reappears in many of his pieces. For example, the RISD museum website discusses his Thrones for the Ancestors series saying “when composing his thrones, Chong charts his own enigmatic world, blending altars from the Yoruba-derived Caribbean Santeria religion and many forms of East Asian ancestor veneration.” Chong’s work is an amalgamation of spiritualities across geographic regions and peoples, which calls into question the relationships and intimacies between seemingly unrelated faiths.
“Albert Chong.” RISD Museum, risdmuseum.org/art-design/collection/throne-justice-199764.
“Installations.” Albert Chong, www.albertchong.com/installations/iu650iqkvux91h12qe7879gaaxztea.
“Religions – Santeria: Sacrifice.” BBC, BBC, 15 Sept. 2009, www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/santeria/ritesrituals/sacrifice.shtml.
This connection to Santeria was so fascinating to read about! It was also interesting because I believe Santeria came about during the time of the transatlantic slave trade which connects with Chong’s dabbling in the religion and your point about Substitute Sacrifice.
This is such an interesting link you’ve picked up on– I had also noted the frequency with which duck feathers seem to appear in Chong’s work so I really appreciated this interpretation of their inclusion! He certainly seems to use specific objects – usually organic matter – as motifs spread throughout his art which is such a fascinating thing to consider in a visual medium. Based on what you’ve explained here about the usage of duck feathers in Santeria, it’s especially compelling that he positions the ritual as a mode of cleansing a symbol of Christianity and how that comes across as an artistic reclamation of religious practices that have been othered and uprooted over the centuries, which seems in itself a form of resistance against the violence wrought by colonialism.