Alice Auma (later Alice Lakwena) was a prophet who, as the head of the Holy Spirit Movement, led the Lord’s Resistance Army against the Ugandan government forces of President Yoweri...
Alice Auma (later Alice Lakwena) was a prophet who, as the head of the Holy Spirit Movement, led the Lord’s Resistance Army against the Ugandan government forces of President Yoweri Museveni from August 1986 until November 1987. When she entered into a prophetic state, she would often use a glass of water to center her visions. The word for this kind of divination is scrying, which involves seeking visions in a reflective surface, crystal ball, mirror, or even a glass of water. It has a long history across many cultures around the world.
In "Lakwena," 2022, Myers depicts the Acholi spirit-medium enthroned, head haloed by the faces of the spirits who guided her way. To her immediate left is the face of the Italian army officer whose spirit she believed she channeled. To her immediate right is the helmeted head of a British colonial officer in a pith helmet, alluding to British imperialist engagement in Uganda. To construct a composition that gives form to Lakwena’s spirit possession, Myers draws upon multiple religious iconographies: the triple-formed Greek goddess Hecate, the tripartite Hindu god Dattatreya, the two-faced Roman god Janus, and even descriptions of Adam from the Talmud. These cross-religious samplings demonstrate the blendings of belief and religious motifs across time and geography.