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In southern black communities it was popularly supposed that one could go to the crossroads and sell one’s soul to the devil. The concept dates back to African folklore.
The deity Esu was believed to be the guardian of the crossroads, and was an intermediary between gods and humans.
When Christianity was brought to African culture, these pagan gods were labelled as being similar to the devil. Hence the concept that one could find the devil at a crossroads. In Celtic tradition the bodies of the unholy were buried outside of town near a crossroad.
Per-Oskar Leu has created an installation sculpture using manufactured components, Moro barriers, to make statements and metaphors about our society’s obsession with celebrity and success.
According to a legend Robert Johnson an extremely gifted guitar player and blues singer went down to the crossroads and made a pact with Satan. The devil promised to fulfil his dream, thus Johnson traded his eternal soul for his extraordinary talents – he wrote Crossroad Blues
Mojo Barriers function as effective crowd control based upon a principle where the weight of the crowd holds the barriers in place, simultaneously creating the myth of fame and at the same time keeping the crowds distant from their idols.
Mojo Barriers is an international company based in USA, Holland and UK their modular system is designed for controlling crowds at public events and rock concerts. Such barriers were exhibited in a recent exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Design Takes On Risk–
“Designers are trained to balance risk with protection and to mediate between disruptive change and normalcy”.
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