What colors are we made of?
Indigo plants found, red earth, fragments of rusted iron,
flowers and bark, pieces of charcoal...
Shakti Callikan explores, harvests and metamorphoses.
Using these materials, she creates colors in the form of
of pigments and inks. From his creations arises a fruitful conversation with four hundred years of the island's history.
Descended from colonies, slaves, and indentured laborers,
She weaves an intimate and multifaceted narrative in which she reflects on these matters
to heal the memory inherited from the ancients.
Emotions sketches a portrait in color
of a nation in the making.
All the natural materials with which I create color have played an essential role in the island's history. Pickaxes or iron shackles, charcoal for cooking, building timber, medicinal plants, or soil for cultivation; in different forms, each of these materials has contributed to the daily lives of the inhabitants for four hundred years.
This achievement led me to do more in-depth historical research on their use throughout our history. I discovered facts I was unaware of and anecdotes that struck me. Chronicles that, stitched together, weave the tapestry of our past.
When I sketch this story, it is I, Shakti, born of a multiple family history, who is doing it.
Marion, a freed slave, and her parents Pierre and Marguerite, who were enslaved; Husraz Mundbodh, indentured laborer no. 306821 Laurent Masson colon, Nowringeea Ramroop engaged n°313931, Jean-Baptiste de Robillard colon, and Callikan n°274458 are my ancestors.
These first arrivals on the island and their many descendants are writing this story with me. Their diverse roots transmit more to me
That's just one point of view. It's my point of view.
All the natural materials with which I create color have played an essential role in the island's history. Pickaxes or iron shackles, charcoal for cooking, building timber, medicinal plants, or soil for cultivation; in different forms, each of these materials has contributed to the daily lives of the inhabitants for four hundred years.
This achievement led me to do more in-depth historical research on their use throughout our history. I discovered facts I was unaware of and anecdotes that struck me. Chronicles that, stitched together, weave the tapestry of our past.
When I sketch this story, it is I, Shakti, born of a multiple family history, who is doing it.
Marion, a freed slave, and her parents Pierre and Marguerite, who were enslaved; Husraz Mundbodh, indentured laborer no. 306821 Laurent Masson colon, Nowringeea Ramroop engaged n°313931, Jean-Baptiste de Robillard colon, and Callikan n°274458 are my ancestors.
These first arrivals on the island and their many descendants are writing this story with me. Their diverse roots transmit more to me. That's just one point of view. It's my point of view.
