La Bouche du Roi (artwork)
La Bouche du Roi (French - the mouth of the king) is an artwork by
The Museum
.
It was produced between 1997 and 2005 and is named after a place, the Bouche du Roi in
Brookes. 304 ‘masks’ are made from these petrol cans, each with an open mouth, eyes and a nose, mirroring the Brookes images, yet gives back individuality and African cultures to the slaves by including tokens of African gods (Vodou or orisha) attached to each 'face'. Two masks at the stern of the ship - with the scales of justice between them - represent the white king imposed on Benin and the native king of Benin
, dealing with African and European culpability for the trade. Liquor bottles, beads and cowrie shells are also included as examples of material which was used to barter for slaves, as are tobacco and spices, their smells mixed with those of a slave ship.