At age nineteen, Bigaud painted Murder in the Jungle to invoke the sociopolitical unrest in Haiti at midcentury. Drawing on influences such as Afro-Caribbean spiritual practices, Haitian folk music, and Judeo-Christian imagery, the artist often depicted energetic scenes ripe with symbolism. This painting likens the turbulence of political revolutions in Haiti and the living aftermath of the Atlantic slave trade to a violent scene in a jungle of dying trees. As the vegetation cracks and decays, humans flee in fear of an unseen aggressor. In the distance, young palm trees, a symbol of Haitian independence, sprout from the ground.

Gallery label from

215: Jungle Jungle, 2025

Medium Oil on board
Dimensions 23 7/8 x 29 3/4" (60.6 x 75.6 cm)
Credit Inter-American Fund
Object number 2.1951
Department Painting & Sculpture

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