Louisiana- Marsh Sudiste

With the name Matthew Morrison and Dutch mother, it is obvious my ancestry is not very French. I am an artist and love the South and France.  Going to France was the turning point of my life because an artistic culture liked my art. I was brought up on the edge of the Bayou being taught that Cajuns were insane (learning Parisian French.) and Voodoo was made up. I now know that was racist discrimination. Ironically, I am from the” Bayou City” and have an uncle who lives in Louisiana. Then, I moved to the North choosing to study French and relived how beautiful was the culture and land I spurned. In French class I ask to do my research on the Bayou for my francophone. I preformed my presentation and wrote my report in Louisiana French and made a love Grigri pouch. All cultures are preserved in their music, but as Zachary Richard fights hard for the Cajun language; my teacher was overwhelmed with the amount of Zydeco in the presentation. When I went to study in France, the French preferred my art and my Louisiana French.

No one questions the mythological nature to the Great state of Louisiana. It does not counties but Catholic perishes. The flag is the flag of Acadiania, Cajun countries. Cajuns emigrated from Canada because the English kicked them out, but in Louisiana they were treated as slaves. The doll in the foreground is a Marie Laveau Voodoo Doll. She was known as the greatest Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. The religion of Voodoo originates from French West Africa and can by way of the slaves coming to the Americas under the persecution of the French government who banned the faith killing all the practitioners. The US freed the slaves by buying Louisiana allowing them to worship as they saw fit. (The 14 amendment did not free African Americans as much.) Voodoo dolls were started in Louisiana. The straw hat behind the alligator head represents the other half of the state called “the Prairie.” The Alligator head is a souvenir that is found like the animals all over the state. The wading boot is from the oil fields in Louisiana. The English have always sought to harm Cajuns seen in the “Grand Derangement” so BP is nothing new, but Exxon TM is good for the state.  I drew it about a year ago.

War has always a subject d’art. The object in the front is a Targe or Celtic Shield which is both an offensive and defensive weapon. One of the best stories of any battle or war is found in a “shield” because it receives all of the blows. The arrows form a St. Andrews Cross, The symbol of Scotland because all conflicts have a cause that someone justifies. There is a dirk knife on the left side. The dirk is a defense weapon and if it is in a shield then He fight a greater warrior as one of them was left handed. Toward the center of the shield, there is a fragment of a ax for all are part of war. Email me at MatthewMorrison76@yahoo.com if you want to buy it from me.