This immersive, multi-sensory installation project addresses the historical erasure of the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. It combines:
An engraved portrait of an Indigenous person, representing the memory of Indigenous peoples, rooted in their identity and history.
A cardboard virtual reality headset, providing an immersive binocular view of a map showing the indigenous names of the Caribbean islands and visual references drawn from the exhibition ‘Tainos and Kalinagos of the Caribbean’ (Quai Branly Museum, 2024).
An art video, blending various sources of inspiration, such as Goya’s painting *Tres de Mayo* (evoking execution and resistance), Niki de Saint Phalle’s performative shootings (embodying cathartic destruction) and the dramatic intensity of Quentin Tarantino’s films. The depicted shooting symbolises the historical violence suffered by indigenous peoples, reflected in the machine-gunned wall sculptures that bear witness to their cultural and physical annihilation.
My project, "ARAWAKS, KALINAGOS…", explores the historical erasure of the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean through an immersive, multi-sensory approach. The use of a cardboard virtual reality headset, combined with the bullet-riddled wall sculptures, intensifies the emotional experience, plunging the viewer into a direct confrontation with the physical and symbolic violence of colonial narratives.
The work challenges hegemonic narratives, particularly the myth of the ‘encounter between two worlds’, by denouncing colonial barbarism whilst restoring a collective memory that has long been suppressed. Through an intense and dramatic visual presentation, it aims to pave the way towards reconciliation in terms of identity and culture.
Drawing inspiration from the work of Daniel Boyd, an Australian artist of Aboriginal descent, this installation explores the themes of memory and historical erasure whilst examining the role of art as a vehicle for healing in the face of colonial trauma.
