Tributes to male and female escaped slaves

Location: Saint-Paul – Place de la mairie
Date: 2010 – 2011
Artist: Dolaine Courtis Fuma
Sculpture
Basalt

These two monuments were sculpted by artist Dolaine Courtis Fuma, and are placed on either side of the large entrance door of the town hall of Saint-Paul. The installation pays tribute to the unknown men and women who were escaped slaves. As the artist explains: “It is a reference to all those slaves who escaped and whose traces have not been found”.

‘Tribute to the female escaped slave’ was erected in March 2010. It represents an enslaved slave who, in spite of her chains, remains loving and protective, maintaining her humanity. This monument is made of lava rock, a rough stone that recalls both the painful life of slaves and the colour of their skin.

Inaugurated in December 2011, its masculine counterpart entitled ‘Tribute to the male escaped slave’, is also sculpted from basalt.