The Look of Liberty
To develop a concept for the temporary exhibition for families about Toussaint Louverture, leader of the Haitian Revolution, the only successful slave revolution. The brief included giving more visibility to Room 3, which is out of the visitors’ usual route.
As a key object in transatlantic slavery, the Akan drum is the focal point of the exhibition. Located in the centre of Room 3, it becomes the watershed between past and present.
Also, it works as a trigger to attract visitors to the room.
Hanging from the ceiling, the canvas installation draws the attention to the drum and invites visitors to explore
the room. The triangular shape recalls the ships’sails employed in the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Activists of all ages are projected on them, while the backside is inspired by African patterns.
In the ‘past section,’ William Blake’s etchings show how Toussaint Louverture was a leading figure for
the abolition movement in the XIXth century.
At the back of the room, there are two imagined portraits from different historical times about Louverture,
whose physical appearance is still unknown. The first one features how his figure became an inspiration for activism and the right of equality under the French Revolution. The contemporary portrait by Ebony Patterson highlights the tension between celebration and the reality of black lives.
In the ‘present section’, many figures of activists from all ages who have inspired the modern definition of freedom will engage the visitors.