The historic Georgskapelle (St. George’s Chapel) in the Old Cemetery in Bonn became the unusual setting for a children’s photo shoot with a very special theme. Five-year-old Henning had a lot of fun and enthusiasm slipping into the role of Baron Samedi, one of the most famous figures from Haitian Voodoo.
With a black top hat, skull-style make-up and a sly smile, Henning transformed into a mini-version of Baron Samedi, filling the old chapel with life and laughter. Instead of gloomy gravity, there was a palpable childlike joy – a playful game with symbols that stimulated the imagination.
But who is Baron Samedi anyway?
In Haitian Voodoo, he is considered the Loa of death, a spirit who stands on the threshold between life and the afterlife. Typical are his black suit, top hat and skull mask. He watches over the graves, receives the dead – and is at the same time a figure full of contradictions: serious and commanding respect, but also playful, obscene, fond of drinking and a lover of crude humor. Baron Samedi is not only a guardian of death, but also a symbol of joie de vivre, eroticism and the unpredictability of existence.
For Henning, all of this was of course just a costume, an imaginative game in a special setting. But it was precisely this mixture of childlike innocence and historical atmosphere that made the shooting so appealing. The chapel, which was once built for silent devotion, was given a completely new, vibrant meaning for a moment. The make-up artist Emilia Keil
This shows that photography is not just an image, but also a stage for the imagination. And sometimes it is enough for a five-year-old boy to put on a top hat to bring a centuries-old figure to life – in a cheerful and light-hearted way that stays in the memory.
Photos: Barbara Frommann
Mask: Emilia Keil
Location: Georgskapelle, Alter Friedhof Bonn
