Iboga and Chrisantem’s Painting

I started painting only after my first Iboga Bwiti ceremony.

I have been close to art since childhood, but I only focused on photography and occasional writing. This changed after my first Iboga Bwiti ceremony in 2018 when I began painting. My intention was to find my own way to share my thoughts with the world, which is perferctly fulfilled.

I then followed my inner guidance, and soon after, I began drawing and painting, which I continue to this day, and I am now studying painting at the university (Faculty of Art, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic).

Since then, I have painted many paintings. Some of them are directly dedicated to my experiences with the medicine Iboga, for example, the first one was Iboga Initiation:

Iboga “Home Initiation,” acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100 cm, 2020

This painting symbolically describes my inner state during my gradual immersion into the medicine of Iboga. At that time, I gathered the courage to start using this medicine at home on my own, without a guide. I had not yet been to Africa, but with each additional dose, I felt how this plant medicine intrigued me more and more, and I knew that I would love to visit Africa.

I first traveled to Africa in June 2022 (my first Bwiti initiation in Gabon), and since then, I have made another 6 trips (altogether until now, I have been in Gabon twice and Cameroon five times). Currently, I have completed three full Bwiti initiations (the first in Gabon and two others in Cameroon). I have also started playing the sacred Bwiti eight-string harp, known as Ngomo, more about which I will cover in a special post.

This painting was created as an expression of my experiences during the Bwiti initiation in Gabon:

Iboga Empress, oil on canvas, 200 x 150 cm, 2023

Murals in Bwiti village in Gabon

These paintings were created directly as murals in my Bwiti village in Gabon:

Watercolors from Gabon

On my journeys, I am always accompanied by sketchbooks and art supplies. For practical reasons, I usually paint with watercolors. Here are some of my watercolor paintings created during my travels:

Paintings in Cameroon

And in Cameroon, I also painted some murals in Bwiti temples where I was initiated.

Bwiti temple branch Dissoumba Benganga in Yaoundé, Cameroon

The foundation of spirituality is the connection with the seven Archangels (Dibenga), which I portrayed as follows:

Bwiti temple branch Diboki in Mbankomo, Cameroon

The foundation of spirituality is the mystical experience of birth, death, and resurrection, which I depicted as Iboga tree with some symbolic images, from conception through life, death (on the left side), and resurrection (on the right side). The paintings depict only women, as this painting is in the women’s section of the temple.

Painting of Evange (Archangel Michael):

Other paintings with Bwiti or African themes:

Painting as integration of Iboga experience

Iboga helps me every time as I need it, giving me a lot of inspiration, teaching me how to simplify my life, and whenever I have problems, it shows me how to overcome them. Whether I take the next steps in my life is, of course, up to me; no one will do that for me.

Art is an excellent way to integrate what I experience during Iboga ceremonies into reality. Painting provides a unique tool to express the visions and images I experience when I take the Iboga medicine.

The Czech Kumacenge Temple in the Czech Republic

How do you like my paintings?

If you would like to have one at home, either as an original or as a digital print on canvas or a postcard, feel free to contact me. Also visit Chrisantem’s artist gallery website: Chrisantem.Art

At our shop you’ll find the following in the Iboga category:

If you have any questions, contact us.