Mémorial de l’Anse Cafard (Le Diamant, Martinique)

Mémorial de l’Anse Cafard (Le Diamant, Martinique)

Subject (Topic)
Middle Passage
Transatlantic Slave Trade
Slave Trade
Diaspora
Le Diamant, Martinique

Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture

The memorial, which overlooks the sea, commemorates both the enslaved people who perished in a shipwreck off the coast of Martinique in 1830, and more generally, the tens of thousands of enslaved Africans who were taken to Martinique as part of the transatlantic slave trade. Arranged in a triangle the 15 stone figures are presented as abstracted, geometrized forms, stripping away any individualizing facial or bodily features. The figures face the ocean, leaning forward, their eyes cast downwards and their mouths open, as if vocalizing a scream.

Valère, Laurent, 1959-

Memory and History of Slavery: Places and Events

Dedicated: May 22, 1998

To view excellent high-res images of the work, click here.

JPEG

English

Visual Arts-Sculpture

Memorial Anse Caffard, Anse Cafard, Le Diamant, Martinique

98.4'' x 58.8'' x 22.8'' (249.936 cm x 149.352 cm x 57.912 cm)

Reinforced concrete; Sand and gravel from Trinidad

Renée Ater

Sculpture