About the Work: Since the 1970s, José Bedia’s work has focused on the Amerindian and Afro-Cuban religions of Santería and Palo Monte, referencing their spiritual practices and the relationship of man to nature and animals. Bedia is a priest of Palo Monte, and his practice has helped him realize that all indigenous cultures are more often linked by similarities than divided by differences. The result is a body of work that is rich in symbolism and mythology. Oyá en lo suyo/ Oyá in his Own World, 1998, exemplifies the synthesis of sources and trademark style present in Bedia’s work. In Yoruba and Palo Monte mythologies, Oyá is the warrior-spirit of the wind, lightning, fertility, fire and magic. She creates hurricanes and tornadoes, guards the underworld and is the spirit of change, chaos and transition. In this etching, Oyá is “doing her work” by blowing wind to a mountain village, where we can see a house and an electric post having the effect of being blown away by her wind.