Chris Ofili
Madame d'leau Cascade, 2026
Ink, watercolour, staples and paper collage on paper
Framed: 28 1/4 x 20 1/8 x 3 1/2 in (71.8 x 51.1 x 9 cm)
© Chris Ofili. Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner
The burlesque carnival character Dame Lorraine evolved from the practice of 18th and 19th century French planters imitating French elite women during masques or masked balls. This practice was later appropriated by freed African slaves, who mimicked and satirised these aristocratic figures, and in doing so, critiqued the broader colonial hierarchy.
In his depiction of the Dame Lorraine character, Ofili invokes the imagery of the tarot trump card Temperance, reworking its traditional motif of a feminine figure who pours liquid between vessels in a gesture that appears to defy gravity. This was thought to represent the dilution of wine with water, advocating for the virtues of moderation and self-control.
The restrained figure symbolising Temperance is positioned as a playfully parodic pairing with the Dame Lorraine, who is contrastively characterised by exaggerated proportions with heavily padded costuming emphasising the breasts and buttocks and accentuated by elaborate, flowing dresses. The Carnival performers would further heighten this physicality in a comically suggestive dance with theatrically elegant gestures, satirising the balls held by the French colonial aristocracy.
The Dame Lorraine characters would often be given names with French or French Creole titles: here, the character is identified as Madame d’leau Cascade, referencing this custom, as well as both the French word for ‘waterfall’ and the Trinidadian folkloric figure, Mama D'Leau, the 'mother of the river'. Cascade is also the name of an area near the artist’s home in Trinidad in another point of local connection and reference.
Madame d’leau Cascade appears to be carried forward on a surging wave with a tumbling, kaleidoscopic waterfall set behind her. The skirts of her dress are composed of a patchwork of the artist’s photos of waterfalls in Trinidad. She carries a brightly-coloured parasol, an accessory often carried by the Dame Lorraine performers. The parasol or umbrella provides a canopy over the Madame, shielding her from the falling prismatic raindrops that shower around the figure.