Special Issue: Oñí Ocan
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courtney desiree morris studio
Oñí Ocan / The Heart of Sweetness
Happy August y’all,
I’m sending out a special edition of the newsletter because I’m so excited to share something big I’ve been working on— my newest film and ritual performance project, Oñí Ocan / The Heart of Sweetness.
The Yoruba term oñí ocan is typically applied to initiates of Oshun, the orisha of rivers, freshwaters, sweetness, and everything that makes life worth living. Like all orisha she operates in duality: she is the divine embodiment of abundance, sensuality, fertility/pregnancy, wealth, pleasure and good fortune. She is also an orisha who has experienced grief, disappointment, abandonment, rejection, and loss. Because of this complexity, Oshun is known as a healer who works with honey and cool water to restore the body and bring mental clarity and self-awareness through the use of her mirror. She is also the patron orisha of sex workers and LGBT practitioners.
Oñí Ocan is a multimedia performance ritual that focuses on the use of honey as a material and metaphysical healing modality, as well as a way to honor current and former sex workers and pleasure activists. It is composed of an experimental film and installation as well as live performances of honey rituals.
I’ll be performing the ritual live at the Berkeley Art Center on Sept. 8th, and I invite you all to come and witness it.
The film will be premiering this October at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts as part of Bay Area Now 9, which opens on October 6th. Once again, consider yourself invited.
I’ll be hosting a studio sale at my North Oakland studio on Saturday, August 19th from 12-5pm to raise funds for the rest of the project. Prints and canvases will be priced to go, so if you’ve ever wanted to buy some of my work, now’s the time! You can contact the studio directly at courtneydesireemorris@gmail.com for pricing and an inventory list.
The ritual honey, now blessed with the ashé of twenty queer & trans people, Black femmes, and sex workers, is available for purchase in 6oz and 12oz quantities. Please inquire for pricing and shipping information at courtneydesireemorris@gmail.com. The proceeds will support the continuation of the project— both post-production and more live ritual performances.
As always, it takes a village to bring a project like this to life. Support for Oñí Ocan was provided by: The Panta Rhea Foundation, The City of Berkeley, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, & the Foundation for Contemporary Art. We shot it on location at Toro y Moi Studios in Oakland, California.
Infinite gratitude to all those who made this project possible: Creative Director Khalil Anthony Peebeles, Director of Photography/Film Lead Jes Gallegos, Production Assistants Sam McGinnis, Aubrey Pandori, Ryan Robertson, & Kiara Sample, Film Editor Haldun Morgan, and Sound Designer SA Smythe.
And of course, endless love and thanks to The Honey Drippers: Arianne Benford, Kendall Benford, Kiara Brown, Monica Canilao, Odaymar Cuesta Kruda, Rachel De Souza Bolden, Ashara Ekundayo, Dillon Gardner, Sura Hertzberg, Ignacia, Alie Jones, Aja Lenae, Janelle Luster, Sam McGinnis, Pi Palomo, Callan Porter-Romero, Kiara Sample, Savannah Shange, Annie Sprinkle, Undine, & Avery Zeus.
More sweetness soon.
C