Babalorixá Muralesimbe, or Samuel (Murah) Soares, is an artist, dancer, and spiritual leader of Ilê Obá Sileké, the first Candomblé temple and community in Berlin. Candomblé, the Afro-Brazilian spiritual tradition that emerged from the communities of West Africans that were abducted to be enslaved on Brazilian plantations. Developed as a matriarchal religion, it is a spiritual practice that places women, Black consciousness, and relations with nature at its core. Babá Murah, too, received the knowledge about these spiritual practices from his grandmother, and was later initiated by his Candomblé mothers in Salvador de Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. For Forgive Us Our Trespasses / Vergib uns unsere Schuld, Babá Murah has created a series of ritual spaces that embody and call upon the orishas (or orixás)—the spirits that are invoked by the religious traditions of Candomblé and several syncretic religions of the African diaspora. The orishas are known to enter into dialogue with humans, and these materializations are an invitation to transgress the material world to seek their advice and counsel. Scattered throughout the house, the seven altars, ritual spaces, and embodiments are activated through song, dance, and moments of togetherness, which can be accessed here.

Works in the exhibition: All from the series Sacred Echoes: Altars of the Orixás (2024), 8 altars, textile, natural materials (earth, leaves, herbs): Sylvia Wynter Foyer: Altar für Exu: Kommunikation und Feuer [Altar for Exu: communication and fire] (2024); Altar für Ogum: Mineralien aus der Erde und Eisen [Altar for Ogum: minerals from the earth and iron] (2024); Altar für Oxóssi: Erde, Blätter und Kräuter [Altar for Oxóssi: earth, leaves, and herbs] (2024). Mrinalini Mukherjee Halle: Altar für Oxum: Tochter von Yemanjá und Königin des Flusses [Altar for Oxum: daughter of Yemanjá and queen of the river] (2024). Bessie Head Foyer: Altar für Ibeji: Fröhlichkeit, Freiheit [Altar for Ibeji: happiness, freedom] (2024). Lili Elbe Garden: Altar für Obaluaiye: Erde [Altar for Obaluaiyê: earth] (2024). Gunta Stölzl Foyer: Altar für Iansã: Freiheit, Luft [Altar for Iansã: freedom, air] (2024). Courtesy of the artist