La Bouche du Roi: an artwork by Romuald Hazoumé was
created between 1997 and 2005 by Romuald Hazoumé, an artist from
the Republic of Benin, West Africa. Literally translated as ‘The
Mouth of the King’, the title refers to a place in Bénin from where
many thousands of slaves were transported to the Americas and the
Caribbean.
However, La Bouche du Roi is primarily a warning against all
kinds of human greed, exploitation and enslavement, both historical
and contemporary. A profound and thought-provoking artistic
statement by artist Romuald Hazoumé, it is made from a combination
of materials, including petrol cans, spices, and audio and visual
elements, the artwork’s arrangement recalls the famous 18th-century
print of the slave ship, the Brookes, which was used to great
effect by Abolitionists.
A recitation of Yoruba, Mahi and Wémé names,
the terrible sounds and smells of a slave ship, and a video of
black market petrol-runners in modern Benin are other elements
which combine to make La Bouche du Roi a truly remarkable and
thought-provoking work of art in which the connections between
past, present and future are made profoundly real.
Horniman Museum
5 December 2008 – 1 March 2009
Image: La Bouche du Roi, by Romuald
Hazoumé