Reconciliation Memorial (Ouidah, Republic of Benin)

Originally placed in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, the bronze statue is now relocated to Ouidah. Unlike the version in Liverpool, this work includes the addition of bronze bas-relief designs, reflecting images related to the transatlantic slave trade, including cotton plants, chains, and industrial factories.

Dublin Core

Title

Reconciliation Memorial (Ouidah, Republic of Benin)

Subject

Subject (Topic)
Public art
Public sculpture
Republic of Benin--Cotonou
Republic of Benin--Ouidah
Transatlantic slave trade

Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture

Description

Originally placed in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, the bronze torsos of two abstracted figures, engaged in a tight embrace, emerge from a rectangular bronze base. Unlike the version in Liverpool, this work includes the addition of bronze bas-relief designs, reflecting images related to the transatlantic slave trade, including cotton plants, chains, and industrial factories. In 2021, the statue was moved to Centre Culturel de Rencontre International John Smith in Ouidah, République du Bénin.

See "Création du CCR International John Smith à Ouidah", 2020, /https://www.accr-europe.org/fr/creation-du-centre-culturel-de-rencontre-international-john-smith-a-ouidah-benin and "Inauguration du CCR international John Smith à Ouidah," 2021, https://www.accr-europe.org/fr/les-actualites/actualites-professionnelles/inauguration-du-ccri-john-smith-au-benin.

Creator

Broadbent, Stephen, 1961

Source

Photograph: Wikimedia Commons

Contributor

Republic of Benin Government; Faith Bebbington (sculptor); Garry Morris (curator, Liverpool Maritime Museum); Liverpool school students; Richmond, VIrginia, school students

Rights

Centre Culturel de Rencontre International John Smith, Palais de justice – Ouidah, BP 56 Ouidah, République du Bénin

Format

JPEG

Language

English

Type

Visual Arts-Sculpture

Coverage

Centre Culturel de Rencontre International John Smith, Palais de justice – Ouidah, BP 56 Ouidah, République du Bénin

Alternative Title

Reconciliation Triangle

Date Created

2005

Has Part

Inscription on side:
Reconnaissons et pardonnons le passé
Célébrons le présent
Construisons l'avenir dans
la réconciliation et la justice.

Acknowledge and forgive the past
Embrace the present
Shape a future
of reconciliation and justice.

Has Version

An identical version of the Reconciliation Memorial exists in Richmond, Virginia.

Extent

144 in. (365.76 cm)

Medium

Bronze

Bibliographic Citation

Broadbent, Stephen. "Reconciliation Triangle." Broadbent Studio. Accessed April 11th, 2019. https://broadbent.studio/reconciliation-triangle-casestudy.

Hatch, John B. Race and Reconciliation: Redressing Wounds of Injustice. Lexington Books, 2008.

Rights Holder

Renée Ater

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Sculpture

Physical Dimensions

144'' (365.76 cm)

Citation

Broadbent, Stephen, 1961, “Reconciliation Memorial (Ouidah, Republic of Benin),” Contemporary Monuments to the Slave Past, accessed October 1, 2026, https://www.slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1139.

Geolocation