Featured: the “Decolonial Expressions” exhibition at the History Museum of the City of Nantes
The exhibition “Decolonial Expressions” takes place at the History Museum of the city of Nantes, with the aim of reviewing the collections and decolonizing thought and imagination. This initiative, launched four years ago, invites African artists and historians to revisit objects inherited from the slave trade and to share their knowledge and art.
The exhibition highlights the need to give voice to those who have been deprived of voice by history. The ancient documents presented in the museum convey a vision of the world, an ideology that impacts our understanding. To remedy this, the museum decided to invite African experts, so that they could tell their own story and offer a decolonial vision.
This year, Cameroonian historian François Wassouni and artists Barthélémy Toguo, Kara Walker and Jean-François Boclé are the guests of honor at the exhibition. Their expertise and creativity are confronted with objects that recall the horrors of the slave trade.
Among the works presented, the work of Jean-François Boclé, “Outre memoire”, highlights the Code Noir, a set of laws which governed the condition of slaves. This work reminds us that the history of trafficking has not been sufficiently taught in schools, and leads us to reflect on the consequences of this omission on our understanding of the past.
The objective of the “Decolonial Expressions” exhibition goes beyond deconstruction. It aims to co-construct a shared and universal story, in which everyone has their place, and where voices long silenced finally find a platform. This desire to decolonize thought and imagination is an essential step towards reconciliation and mutual understanding.
The “Decolonial Expressions” exhibition is an invitation to question our representations of the past and to redefine our understanding of history. By giving voice to those who have been ignored for so long, the museum offers a new and engaging perspective on the consequences of the slave trade and the need to rethink our collective heritage.