Michael Thompson, Henri I, King of Haiti (2010)
Monthly Archives: November 2012
Henri Christophe, Proclaimed King of Haiti, 26 March 1811
Henri Christophe sets fire to Le Cap
Je renais de mes cendres
…The reverse bears the inscription Les armoiries du Roi Henry Christophe, 1767-1820, Bâtisseur de La Citadelle (The arms of King Henry Christophe, 1767-1820, Builder of the Citadel). In the middle is the king’s coat of arms, a crowned phoenix rising from the flames, with stars in the firmament and the words, Je renais de mes cendres. (I […]
Untitled. Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982.
Untitled conveys Jean-Michel Basquiat’s possession of an encyclopaedic intellect and prodigious ability to communicate a highly evocative yet masterfully succinct visual code. Fascinated by his own cultural heritage, his father of Haitian descent, this painting speaks to the legacy of white colonisation and black servitude. Bearing the emblematical three-pointed crown bracketed by, in large capital letters, […]
Sculpture vaudou fon, Bénin
Sculpture vaudou fon, Bénin, Bois, pierre, fer, terre cuite et patine sacrificielle, 57 x 56 x 35 cm, Collection Anne et Jacques Kerchache, Photo © Yuji Ono, Exposition Vaudou, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, 5 avril › 25 sept. 2011
Modernism, Exoticism, Erasure: Jeanne Duval
Duval, like so many others, has been largely erased from history. Franklin Sirman, “Les Fleurs Duval,” Artnet.com (17 November 1998) Sweltering Africa and languorous Asia, A whole far-away world, absent, almost defunct, Dwells in your depths, aromatic forest! While other spirits glide on the wings of music, Mine, O my love! floats upon your perfume. […]