Myrlande Constant
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1968 (age 57–58)
Myrlande Constant | |
|---|---|
| Born | Myrland Constant 1968 (age 57–58) Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Occupation | Visual artist |
| Known for | Paintings, textile art, flags |
Myrlande Constant (born 1968) is a Haitian textile artist who specializes in Vodou themed flags, or drapo Vodou. Since she began making Vodou flags in the 1990s, she has transformed and surpassed this medium, preferring to make large-scale tableau, she describes her work as "painting with beads."[1] Constant is married and the mother of four children.[2][3]
Constant was born in Port-au-Prince in Haiti where, as a teenager, she learned the art of beading while working with her mother in a Port-au-Prince factory making wedding dresses. Once she quit that job, she moved on to be one of the most celebrated artists for making Vodou drapo.[4]: p.183 Constant has taken part in the revolution in the art of drapo-making over the last two decades. She has been making flags since the 1990s. Since the 1990s, there was an abrupt shift in drapo-making, which was primarily a male art form. There are several new designers who are women now, one of them being Myrlande Constant. Because of the impact that Constant has on other people, she influences art-making in other individuals, in particular Marilyn Houlberg.[5]
Constant bears witness to her nation's calamities. For example, after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, the artwork Myrlande made represented the collectivistic society through the things that were going on at the time.[4]: p.20
Her works are densely beaded flags (some as large as six by seven feet). Constant's flags are much larger than traditional flags. In 2011, Constant participated in a series of exhibitions, workshops, and lectures at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she conducted a three-day flag-making workshop.[4]: p.183
