La Pietà of Escaped Slaves

Location: Rivière des pluies, by the Pont-Neuf roundabout
Date: 2017
Artist: Marco Ah-Kiem
Sculpture
Basalt

Inaugurated on 19th February 2017, this basalt sculpture represents Héva and Enchaing, escaped slaves who took refuge in the cirque of Salazie. Here, the artist depicts Héva healing Enchaing’s wounds.

It took Marco Ah-Kiem more than five months to carve out this piece from a single block of basalt: “It’s an honour for me to have created this Piéta. I wanted to show love through the eyes of escaped slaves – Héva and Enchaing loved each other for more than 25 years. It was a challenge because this is the first time I have taken on a sculpture of this size from a single rock, and it was not easy to chip away at the basalt”, explains the 65-year-old artist. “Through this mythical couple, there is a blend of both history and legend, and I also want to pay homage to women and their role in communities of escaped slaves.”