Learning from Obaco
Obaco is a work by German / Portuguese artist Garda Kilombo. Currently situated in the courtyard of Summerset House, London, it is an art installation that hosts a performance.
From the BBC:
“Forming the shape of the bottom of a boat, the piece references the slave ships that carried for centuries millions of Africans, enslaved by European empires. The blocks also contain poems in six different languages, inscribed on the surface. “Addressing the history of European maritime expansion and colonization, the piece invites the audience to consider forgotten stories and identities,” the curators explain; the civil administration responsible for the British Royal Navy was once based at Somerset House.”
Obaco provokes an appraisal of the history of “Royal”. Charles III has just inherited, tax free, the wealth created by a slave trade that was administered by his family. The winner writes history, so it is said, but today voices of the Majority World are adding to the narrative of The West. History is culture’s foundation and around the world culture is evolving.