THE UN SLAVERY MEMORIAL PROPOSAl
The UN had a competition for a Slavery Memorial competition, below is the artist statement and the design statement.
ah didnt make the second round and wish dem de best.
The quest continues.......
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| This is the totems 1-4 |
Artist Statement
As I reflect on the Atlantic Slave Trade I am faced with an amazing diversity of emotions - anger, confusion but also peace and personal contentment as I observe the continued activism for social justice. At the same time I am confronted with the continuing residue of psychological and emotional scarring resulting from the enslavement experience.
My country - Trinidad and Tobago, the epidemic of gang violence and drug use among male youth resulted in a recently concluded three-month state of emergency. Although slavery was abolished over 160 years ago, we are still feeling its traumatic effects in this post slavery, post-colonial period and its infusion into an already confused and baffling post-Independence political situation. Dr. Joy De Gruy Leary’s work on Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS) expresses this well.
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| Totems 5-8 |
She argues that through a process of cognitive dissonance the scientific and knowledge systems of mainstream Western educational systems, media and popular culture, have mythologized Africa and Africans into deformed and pathological members of the global economy. These institutions construct their practice in ways that consciously and subconsciously distort and reform historical truth. Other distinguished Caribbean psychologists, Prof. Gerard Hutchinson and Prof. Frederick Hickling, both of The University of the West Indies, speak about that pain which is not often discussed or acknowledged, which exists within our Caribbean African Diaspora spaces The issue of internalised racism has also been recognised by psychologists as contributing to significant distortions in many African descendants’ perception of themselves and their possibilities.
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| Side view of 1st Design Proposal. |
The Trans Atlantic Slave Trade therefore has left with us all infused with stereotypes, fables, lies, and myths that have become politicised. Through consciousness-raising activity and the work of cultural institutions, artists, intellectuals, poets and activists many of these stereotypes are being challenged. African art, cultures and creativity have been pivotal to the spiritual, psychological and social survival of peoples of African descent from one generation to another.
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| Totem 9-14 |
But the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade brought many groups into close proximity with each other, creating some of the more interesting fusions of heritage - languages, cultures, institutions, festivals and children, myself being one of those. I am an African descendent with shared ancestry, the indigenous Caribbean and India; it is here that the piece – 9Totems Rising enters the stage at the intersection of our globalised modernity, challenged with national conflicts, economic crisis and on the verge of change. I envision this memorial as creating a presence not only for tears, but for reflection, celebration, pride, inspiration and innovation. This memorial will contribute to the positive dialogue between Africa and her Diaspora and to a celebration of their inestimable contribution to humanity and the global economy.
Specifically, the memorial will celebrate characteristics of Africa and the Diaspora - music, art and craft, intellect, philosophy, spirituality, language, industry, science, economics, community, dance, intellectualism, triumph over slavery and presence. Each totem deserves its own space. Each characteristic identified contributed to the resilience of individuals and families. Each brought communities to their feet in defiance of a system pitted squarely against them. My intention is to create a metaphorical circle, common ground, which represents continuous motion, indestructibility and reincarnation through children, education and oral story-telling. It is in the circle that we define our family and community; it is in this metaphor that we find our centre, our strength.
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| Totems 13-14 |
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| 1st Design Proposal |
The Totems
I have used Totems in my work to suggest a political emergence of indigenous post-colonial identities, through the reconstitution of symbols, iconography and text. Totems have been used in Africa (and other cultures) to connect people to ancestors, representing mystical and ritual bounds of unity within family, community and nation. Totems were also used as tools of cultural and educational transmission within the group and the wider community. In this piece I am re-imagining this social tool as a post-modern iconography of education and community in today’s globalised African modernity.
The 9 totems will have a chrome reflective surface; they will be branded with text, symbols and materiality, which I hope will espouse the individual strengths and poetics of each theme. The totems have been designed to be interactive with the human form. In these interactions, people will face each other, creating a communal hallowed ground. As the body makes contact with the material object, there is absorption of power, a deep breath and a silence of meditation. Finally a resolution begins with these complex and conflicting emotions, which will develop dialogue internally then externally directing a path forward through the individual into the community.
The totems sit on the periphery of a slab of black marble representing mystery, an ominous history, complex present, possible future. Imagine 9Totems, chromed, shinning, bursting with energy rising from this black slab creating a metaphor for rising from a dark past standing as guardians over a unifying symbol within Africa, the Diaspora and global iconographies. This hallowed ground can become activated when any member of the public brings another drum, a word or a presence to the space. In this way the memorial becomes a living communal space of celebration with us engaged in the activity – dancing singing or at the periphery - feeling, observing, and learning. This space must be activated by human interaction which would need to be integrated into the management system for the memorial.
This memorial is designed to celebrate Africa and her children’s contribution to the creation of a more humane global society and her enduring sprit to continue despite all odds. To stand up when there is no practical way that she can, to speak of love when her children have been burned, raped and murdered and to embrace her children even when they have gone astray.
As an artist I have conceptualised a number of public art projects and produced public installations working with craftspeople, architects, curators and institutions, In many ways this project would be a culmination of years of activism in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean for a public art that is integrated with and not separated from community, a concept that is not yet fully understood.
This Memorial is to the mother, as the mother is to all families.
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Dean Arlen
Design Narrative
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| final proposal, overview. |
I am proposing a post-modern simulation of the beauty of Africa and its Diaspora within this memorial. It is my hope that the viewer will feel pride in Africa and the contribution of Africa and her children to the global aesthetics, art and craft, music, society and economy. The symbols and iconography used respond to the creativities and realities expressed in Africa’s myth, epistemologies, philosophies and people. Meanings mediated through the experience of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade that have developed further, that have been transformed but also transformative on a world stage.
This memorial will be constructed using metal and objects, utilizing the idea of assemblage as its main impetus. The assemblage provides a political and philosophical framework for indigenous craft process in the Caribbean and modern Africa. It builds on the idea that objects are infused with power which can be carved out to tell a story. The craft process of welding and foundry will be used to professionally assemble and develop the totems and other items. The materials chosen invoke strength and perseverance in a modern, fast-moving and technological world, a creative celebration in poetic style.
I see the overall design as invoking a modern traditionalism. Through the materials chosen I seek to etch out a space that is not static but that will ignite and excite through people’s interaction with the materials. I would like people to know that they need to bring it alive through active participation: causing it to vibrate and speak through them: the human form. That “to be”, is to celebrate death, as you would celebrate birth, as you would life. The totems therefore are designed to be alive - to speak, to resonate with the human form and with nature e.g. with sound using wind as in the Language Totem. Some will be constructed to make melodies through chimes and through walking persons will feel beneath their feet textures, will tell a sensory story that goes deep into the human form.
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| This is the final proposal, side view. |
From the hallowed ground will emanate sound, voices and the chatter of the world. These voices will vibrate off the material object creating a greater meaning. From the depth of the earth another story can be told, written. As we sit on the periphery we can see the faces of the other persons across the other side of the womb (cavity or the Meta-Circle).
The Form
Dimensions -15ftx6ft
Flooring Materials – Black Marble/ Stone, textured patterns and inlaid with text
The overall form of the memorial is rectangular which will sit the 9 totems. The 9 totems one and half feet by one foot will be installed along the periphery of the rectangle.
The Centre or The Meta-Circle
Dimensions – 13feet x4feet
Material – Black Marble/Stone: Inlaid with Brass Texts, Etched Simulations of African Designs.
The meta-circle will be inlaid with texts that will guide the viewer through the centre of the memorial. With the main mantra being remember- your heroes, remember your history, and remember your beauty etc. It does speak not only to the African, the African Diasporas but to everyone involved in this global economy. The flooring of the memorial will be etched with simulations of African designs.
The 9Totems.
Dimensions –varying 12ft-15ft height x 2ft. width x 1 1/2ft. depth
Materials - metal, Chromed Surface, etched surface.
The reflective surface of the totems will allow us to see ourselves as totems in totems, being able to interact with them empowers, creating totems in each of us, their height allows the viewer to still personally interact with them, as friendly giants, creating a familiar and friendly space.
They will be built using professional and experienced crafts people tuned into the understanding of this accomplishment as a communal project. The process will be shaped through a coming together of the professional traditions of craftspeople and artists.
Installation
The totems will be installed in collaboration with experienced engineers taking into consideration factors such as wind, nature, materials and the specifics of the location. Based on my general knowledge I would initially propose that each totem be installed using a foundation rebar eight to twelve inches, connected to a concrete base that will go into the floor at three inches below floor level. These could be bolted to the concrete base using mounting bolts. The size and design of each totem will dictate the size of the mounting bolts. The base will be covered using an appropriate material that will provide access for maintenance.[1]
The text that will be etched into each totem will be made by a professional signage company using the same material as the totem and will be welded to the totem to suit the desired aesthetics.
Interactivity
Each totem will be interactive. The viewer will be able to sit in them creating a circular communal group in contemplation and celebration. I propose that a memorial committee be established to ensure that the space is kept alive with words, music and dance. I also propose that a publication be produced to accompany the memorial that tells in detail the full story of her characters’, texts, symbols, iconography and materials.
[1] Specific construction details are open to reconsideration based on site-specific and professional engineering considerations.
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