Sankofa Hauntings, Ghosts of a Futures Past
- Cape Coast Castle
The imposing white building of the Cape Coast Castle stands on the edge of town almost leaning out to sea. At the bottom of the mammoth structure is a wooden doorway known as ‘the door of no return’ - the door through which enslaved people were lead out to waiting ships - leading to a landing that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. Inside the castle on either side of the passage leading to this wooden door there are two more doorways in the stone walls. Each of these lead into dark cavernous dungeons with high arched ceilings. The floors are matted with a grime that is hundreds of years of human excrement, blood and other accumulated dirt. There are small slits close to where the ceiling starts to curve into its dome. Thin shafts of light eke through the slits without managing to illuminate the space at all.
In this space, where women were held captive (after being bought by European slavers), I presented an exhibition titled Sankɔfa Hauntings, Ghosts of a Futures Past.
Inside wall for the courtyard of Cape Coast Castle.
Plaque place in the wall of the castle to commemorate the weight and significance of the events that took place here.
Window out to sea from the chambers of one of the British officials who oversaw the trafficking of the people held in the dungeons below this room.
View of the castle from the beach below. The screens for projection are visible blowing in the winf along with the flags of teh local fishemen's boats.
Evening falls just before the video projections that comprise the installation become visible.
View from the upper castle of the video projections becoming more vissible as night falls.
A local audience gathered to see the video works on offer.
Transatlantic Saudades devided between a screen and the wall of the castle with a gap leading to the local community beyond.
Videos on the walls of the castle and on the screens blowing in the ocean breeze.
Audience members view the video Yamanja projected between the screen and the walls of the castle.
Audience members moving amongst and as part of the video narrative showing between the wall of the castle and the cotton projection sheets.
Installation inside the women's dungeon. The video seen in this image is By and by some trace remains. The glass and wooden boxes scattered about the room contain cotton, tobacco and rice. In the far right corner a television monitor shows the word for the poem Suspended in Stasis.
Installation view inside second women's dungeon. The video showing in this image is Fungible things with a glass display case containing sugarcane breaking the image.
Installation view inside second women's dungeon. The video showing in this image is Fungible things with a glass display case containing sugarcane breaking the image.
Deatail of wood and glass case constining cotton.
View of video, Yemanja, playing between the wall of the castle and the cotton sheets outside the door of no return.
View of the inside of the castle courtyard from passage leading to the women's dungeon and the door of no return.
