Even before travelling to Gabon to become initiated into the tradition of Bwiti, many distinctly African faces had appeared in my visions, many displaying the colours and patterns used by the Mitsogo branch of Bwiti.

During my first encounter with Bwiti in Gabon, faces such as painted here would appear out of the darkness, quietly witnessing, or loudly joining in the music and chanting that was ever-present.

The name I received in that initiation was Mubango. This painting holds that name, and for me, contains a lot of the energy of that time in the jungle back in 2007.