Our story in this ocean

the legacy of San Jose paquette de africa

at the intersection of Mozambique,South
Africa, Brazil and Portugal

Our Story in this Ocean

Artist Statement by Meghna Singh
Long-lost between two reefs off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa, are
the fragmented remains of a Portuguese slave ship, So Jos-Paquete de
Africa, now identified centuries later as the first known wreck of its kind.
Ripped apart near the Cape of Good Hope in 1794 while en route to Brazil,
the ship carried over 400 enslaved people from Mozambique. More than
half were killed in the wreck, and the rescued were resold into slavery.
(Gharam, 2015)
The remains of shackles and iron ballasts might not seem like much, but
they represent a tragic history with a global impact, reports the New York
Times report dated 1st June 2015. Taking the memory of the journey of
this Portugese Slave ship, I propose to create a research based immersive
visual and aural art work. Our story in this ocean is an ambitious visual
art project imagining the oceanic journey of a Portugese slave ship, Sao
Jose-Paquete de Africa, linking sites in Portugal, Mozambique, South
Africa and Brazil. Using the remains of the recently discovered slave ship
in Cape Town as a started point, the project spans from an archival world
of slave ship records to underwater archaeology to the life and culture of
Afro-Mozambican citizens of Lisbon. The metaphor of this slave making
machine is to incorporate contemporary forms of the silenced slaved: the
immigrant, the seafarer, the other.The project aims to throw light on the
world of global mobilities and subaltern populations who get contained
in states of suspension or drown in order to find a better life. Starting
with Lisbon, the site of an old oceanic slave empire, the immersive work,
reflects on contemporary forms of slavery that are invisibilized behind the
mask oceanic mobilities.The project uses ancient dance and ceremonial
practices of the Macua people of North Mozambique to tell the story of
slavery. The project further engages in discussions and exchanges around
the meaning of the term transnational in a globalized world, where the
so called state of global fluidity and mobility exists for the privileged
traveller while an entire section of society struggles to cross borders.

Video still, work in progress, video installation, Hangar, Lisbon 2015,

Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Photo still, Remains of San Jose Paquette de Africa under treatment at the underwater
archaeology lab, Iziko National museum, Cape Town, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Photo still, Remains (pulley block) of San Jose Paquette de Africa under treatment at the
underwater archaeology lab, Iziko National museum, Cape Town, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Volume and direction of transatlantic trade from all African to all American regions
Photo credit: www.slavevoyages.org

Regions of slave voyage embarkation and disembarkation

Photo credit: www.slavevoyages.org

Archival record of slave ships departing Mozambique and arriving in Brazil

Photo credit: www.slavevoyages.org

Graphs showing the rise in slave ship voyages and the mortality rate
Photo credit: www.slavevoyages.org

Proposed ports of departure: Nacala, mozambique, Cape Town, South Africa, Recife, Brazil and
Lisbon, Portugal
Photo credit: Google maps

Photo still , work-in progress, Video installation, Lisbon, November 2015

Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Photo still , Video installation, Jardim Botanico tropical, Lisbon, November 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Photo still , Video installation, Jardim Botanico tropical, Lisbon, November 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Photo still, work-in progress, Video installation, Lisbon, November 2015

Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Photo still , old Portuguese maritime maps, work-in progress, Video installation, Lisbon, November 2015
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Photo still , Archival records of San Jose Paquette de Africa, Arquivo Historico Ultramarino Lisbon, November 2015
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Photo still, Archival records of San Jose Paquette de Africa, Arquivo Historico Ultramarino,
Lisbon, November 2015
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Photo still, Statue of Adamastor, representating the forces of nature the Portuguese navigators had to
overcome at the Cape and bust of Vasco de Gama, Lisbon, November 2015
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Photo still, contemporary port of Lisbon and the view over the city, Lisbon, November 2015
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Photo still , contemporary port of Lisbon, November 2015

Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Photo still, Painting detail, old passenger arrival terminal, Port of Lisbon, November 2015
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Photo still, Underwater footage from expedition to find remains of slave ship, Cape Town, Source: Iziko
National Museums
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Maulide dance,ancient spiritual dance involving self stabbing with knives,

Ilha de Mozambique, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Aphivi and Avante dance of Macua people of North Mozambique

Mainland outside Ilha de Mozambique, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Chakasha and NSofe dance of Macua people of North Mozambique

Ilha de Mozambique, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Mooro fire dance of Macua people of North Mozambique

Mainland Village outside Ilha de Mozambique, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Camarao facturia, warehouse by the seaside and possible place where slaves were kept
before shipment
Ilha de Mozambique, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Camarao facturia, warehouse by the seaside and possible place where slaves were kept
before shipment
Ilha de Mozambique, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Church Nossa Senhora dos Remedios: church where slaves were baptised before being set
free
village of Cabaceria, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Ramps de Escravos Ramp used to ship slaves and the place where they were sold before
walking the ramp
Mossuril, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Facturia: the place where slaves were kept before being sold, close to the ramp site
Mossuril, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Fort San Sebastiao, exterior view with doors leading out to sea
Ilha de Mozambique, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Fort San Sebastiao, interior view with doors leading out to sea
Ilha de Mozambique, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Fort San Sebastiao, interior view with doors leading out to sea
Ilha de Mozambique, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Fort San Sebastiao, interior view with doors leading out to sea
Ilha de Mozambique, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Old Mosque with internal tunnels by the sea to transport slaves to the ships
Ilha de Mozambique, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Old Mosque with internal tunnels by the sea to transport slaves to the ships
Ilha de Mozambique, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh

Room with very low ceilings where slaves were kept, Old Mosque
Ilha de Mozambique, May, 2016
Photo credit: Meghna Singh


Meghna Singh
singh.meghna@gmail.com