The Decolonial Helmet
The artist Blick Bassy presents Le Casque décolonial, a progression from roots towards rebirth by way of resistance, designed in the form of eleven helmet-calabashes, each with a poem-message to deliver.
One fathomless journey in time,
Eleven stages, eleven helmets emerging,
Our faithful companion, the calabash,
Guides our steps along this rebel road.
A multi-purpose fruit, it flourishes
ln the blessed shade of Africa, its birthplace,
Undergoing ordeals, floating and resisting,
lt crosses the oceans, keeper of the seeds.
Full of determination, it changes,
A metamorphosis without reform,
Spreading hopes of a new time,
lt reaches beyond the horizons.
1 chose to make it the main subject,
Eleven ideal stages, a dream of decolonization,
Towards such longed-for emancipation,
Towards a mapped-out decolonial mental path.
Every helmet, a symbol of this journey,
A step, a subtle quest,
Breaking the chains fettering our minds,
Building a community in harmony with its story.
The calabash, a witness to this evolution,
A dark patch, a symbol of torments,
But also of the resistance driving us,
An unwavering flame, a force coming to life.
This journey, a poem of liberation,
Reconnecting us with our origins,
Our roots, our traditions, our history,
To build a world in which equality dawns.
ln eleven steps, climbing these mountains,
Reconciliation and justice winning,
When the calabash is covered,
The community will be liberated, ready to be reborn.
![](data/files/254-b.jpg)
![](data/files/254-a.jpg)
![](data/files/254-c.jpg)
The Decolonial Helmet
Blick Bassy, 2023
Work in eleven helmets
Calabashes, different materials
©Photos Johnathan Watts/MEG
Helmet (I), an Independence dance
End of oppression, intense period,
Insistent rumba, entrancing Grand Kallé,
Hymn to freedom, a childhood tune.
![](data/files/255-a.jpg)
![](data/files/255-b.jpg)
Helmet (F), a merry funeral
Homage to the dead, a lavish celebration,
Guardian angels watch over friends and family,
Letting the dead go, daring to live.
![](data/files/256-a.jpg)
![](data/files/256-b.jpg)
![](data/files/256-c.jpg)
![](data/files/256-d.jpg)
Helmet (D), mental cleaning
Leaving the colonial lobotomy behind,
A new departure, wipe the slate clean,
Despoiled, forgotten contents, revival.
![](data/files/257-a.jpg)
![](data/files/257-b.jpg)
Helmet (U), unity and communion
Rebuilding the united community,
Ubuntu, a philosophy linking us,
Development for all, harmony.
![](data/files/258-a.jpg)
![](data/files/258-b.jpg)
![](data/files/258-c.jpg)
Helmet (R), roots reconnected
Ancestors honoured, values respected,
Emancipation through spirituality,
Black cosmogonies, freedom regained.
![](data/files/259-a.jpg)
![](data/files/259-b.jpg)
Helmet (N), a harmonious relationship
Well-balanced nature, a new glimmer of light,
Complementarity, equality regained,
Inhabiting of spaces, life renewed.
![](data/files/260-a.jpg)
![](data/files/260-b.jpg)
Helmet (C), rebuilding in progress
A new city, a vision full of resources,
Remodelling, building a strong paradigm,
Based on community, hope taking shape.
![](data/files/261-a.jpg)
![](data/files/261-b.jpg)
![](data/files/261-c.jpg)
![](data/files/261-d.jpg)
Helmet (CC), culture at the journey’s centre
Re-creation, endless emancipation,
Valorization and different singularities,
A rich community, culture transmitted.
![](data/files/262-a.jpg)
![](data/files/262-b.jpg)
Helmet (P), protection from dangers
Treacherous paths, foreign spirits,
Accompanying and protecting fragile souls,
Going forward despite all, confidently dancing and shining.
![](data/files/263-a.jpg)
![](data/files/263-b.jpg)
Helmet (DD), preservation of minds
From negative tales, slow progress,
Despoilment avoided, fragility preserved,
Continuing the path towards destiny.
![](data/files/264-a.jpg)
![](data/files/264-b.jpg)
![](data/files/264-c.jpg)
Helmet (A), back to sources
Knowledge explored, traditions growing,
Mastering the elements, visible and invisible,
A starlit existence, inutterable maturity.