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.
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.
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.
Helmet (D), mental cleaning
Leaving the colonial lobotomy behind,
A new departure, wipe the slate clean,
Despoiled, forgotten contents, revival.
Helmet (U), unity and communion
Rebuilding the united community,
Ubuntu, a philosophy linking us,
Development for all, harmony.
Helmet (R), roots reconnected
Ancestors honoured, values respected,
Emancipation through spirituality,
Black cosmogonies, freedom regained.
Helmet (N), a harmonious relationship
Well-balanced nature, a new glimmer of light,
Complementarity, equality regained,
Inhabiting of spaces, life renewed.
Helmet (C), rebuilding in progress
A new city, a vision full of resources,
Remodelling, building a strong paradigm,
Based on community, hope taking shape.
Helmet (CC), culture at the journey’s centre
Re-creation, endless emancipation,
Valorization and different singularities,
A rich community, culture transmitted.
Helmet (P), protection from dangers
Treacherous paths, foreign spirits,
Accompanying and protecting fragile souls,
Going forward despite all, confidently dancing and shining.
Helmet (DD), preservation of minds
From negative tales, slow progress,
Despoilment avoided, fragility preserved,
Continuing the path towards destiny.
Helmet (A), back to sources
Knowledge explored, traditions growing,
Mastering the elements, visible and invisible,
A starlit existence, inutterable maturity.