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The sacred grooves of Osogbo

Susan Wenger's main work over the years has been the constant reconstruction, renovation and preservation of the shrines and grooves in the Osun Osogbo grooves. She has produced works of art that protects the grooves from intrusion and decay. Examples include sculptured walls and added strikingly eclectic structures, which are as tall as trees in the groove. For her, art couldn’t be disconnected from its religious functions because creativity is part of ritual life. The fusion of art and religion was at the core of Wenger’s art and the singular purpose of her work was to protect the sacredness of nature. Her works present to us a mixture of architecture and sculpture. The shrines of the gods are for them a ceremonial home while the sculptures embody their myths. Embedded in these myths are characteristics and taboos of each god. Wenger seeks to reflect these features as much as possible in her sculptures of and for the gods. As an artist involved in the production of ritualistic art, she lived intensely in the “archaic continuous dimension of being.”

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