Summary:
Slave trade is a slice of Kerala history that has been little explored. Williamson has also another exhibit at biennale ‘Message from the Atlantic Passages’ that documents Atlantic slave trade KOCHI: Between 1660 and 1860, tens of thousands of slaves were captured from countries like India, Indonesia Madagascar and brought to Cape Town in South Africa by the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) or Dutch East India Company . “When I started explaining the concept behind the work to art mediators they said they were unaware of that bit of history,” said Williamson, who has engaged with slave trade, truth and reconciliation process in the postapartheid era through her art.For the project Williamson relied on transaction records from Cape Town deeds office that accounted enslavement of Indians in the 17th century. The clothes have been dipped in muddy water around Cape Town Castle, a site of enslavement, to symbolize the oppression and hard labour they endeavoured.One Hundred and Nineteen Deeds of Sale, an installation by Sue Williamson, currently on show at Aspinwall House, is an effort to document the plight of these slaves who made the trip from Cochin to Cape Town in ships owned by Dutch East India Company.“I was stuck by parallel history of colonisation shared by both port cities,” said Williamson, whose installations, videos and performances shed light on neglected histories..