Georges Liautaud, a black-smith based in the town of Croix-des-Bouquets, was approached in 1953 by DeWitt Peters, an American painter and founder of the Centre d'Art school and artists' cooperative in Port-au-Prince. Impressed by Liautaud's wrought-iron grave markers, Peters urged him to expand his repertory of subjects and images, and to create independent works of art for sale. Using scrap iron from empty oil barrels, Liautaud created cutout figures with lively, expressive silhouettes that represent Vodou deities and spirit possession.