Presentation of Vivre Libre ou Mourir at UNESCO on 8th June 2018

Presentation of Vivre Libre ou Mourir at UNESCO on 8th June 2018

On the 8th June 2018 at Unesco in partnership with its « Slave Route » project, the founders of the "Vivre Libre ou Mourir" initiative, namely Shuck One from Guadeloupe and Emily Gonneau, French-British, representing Unicum Music, launched  the first ever vinyl album connected to an app (out since the 27th May 2018) dedicated to the memory of the translatlantic slave trade.

The vynil is linked to Shuck One’s visual art installation "L"histoire en marche - History Marching" and composer Maxime Lenik’s sound illustration of it. The work of art was commissioned by the French State and is part of the permanent collection at the Memorial ACTe in Pointe à Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Thanks to the vynil, many more will now be able to remotely explore the work exposed wherever they are on the planet. The vinyl is like any other vinyl that you play on a standard turntable, yet when you scan it with a smartphone (even through the album cover) it uses NFC technology to connect you to a platform hosting :

- the tracks on the vinyl as well as bonus featuring Lilian Thuram

- the biographies of the Shuck One and Maxime Lenik, the art installation’s co-creators

- videos about Shuck One’s 'History in the making'  

- content provided by UNESCO from its « Slave Route » project

- updates and news on the topic concerning the duty of memory of the transatlantic slave trade

In order for the user’s experience of the project may happen over a long period of time, new content will progressively be uploaded onto the app on a monthly basis, such as :

 - educational videos

- videos exploring the creative process

- interviews with personalities about the importance of the Transatlantic Slave Trade’s impact on our collective memory today and beyond

- presentation of the tools and material used to compose

Continue to read for more info on the project "Vivre Libre ou Mourir"

From the top, Shuck One and its installation at the Memorial ACTe; below Emily Gonneau of Unicum
From the top, Shuck One and its installation at the Memorial ACTe; below Emily Gonneau of Unicum

From the top, Shuck One and its installation at the Memorial ACTe; below Emily Gonneau of Unicum

How did it all begin?

It all started in 2015 when Shuck One, a visual and street art artist was commissionned to create a visual installation for the Memorial ACTe in Pointe à Pitre, Guadeloupe called "L'Histoire en Marche".

This fine arts project pays hommage to the fight for Freedom against Napoleon Bonaparte's troops which came to Guadeloupe to reestablish slavery in 1801, initiated and led by Joseph Ignace and Louis Delgres. It is a contemporary reflection of the 21st century concerning a page of History which is still being written today through ongoing research for which perception must continue to contribute to the collective conscience.

It consists in a composition in volume with the intervention of different techniques: acrylic, aerosol, magic-marker, collages of heteroclitic elements. The work in volume is conceived from a vintage map of Guadeloupe which traces a topography of confrontation. With regard to this topography, a chronology of the conflict is integrated in the form of collages.The work invites us to stride in the wake of the resistance, its path on a factual and physical dimension with the integration in volume of dismembered bodies, charred projections of flesh with gunpowder impactions; the extreme violence with which the insurgents faced the men of Richepance is palpable. The movements of Ignace and Delgrès' troops become charged with a mental and ideological dimension, notably signified by Delgrès' declaration of May 10th 1802, cited and presented in collage form: « LIVE FREE OR DIE! » its relevance is universal!

This visual installation is complemented by a sound installation composed by Maxime Lenik and interpreted by Yorrick Troman. See link below for their biographies (French only, English soon available)

Continue reading for more upcoming events of "Vivre Libre ou Mourir" and Shuck One's biography

Visual installation of Shuck One "L'histoire en Marche"
Visual installation of Shuck One "L'histoire en Marche"

Visual installation of Shuck One "L'histoire en Marche"

This work will continually be evolving and the project will be presented in a number of cities across the world.

Next dates will be on the 21st October 2018 at the Memorial ACTe in Point-à-Pitre to commemorate the 21st October 1801 when Louis Delgrès, French army battalion chief, led the rebellion in Guadeloupe, alongside Joseph Ignace, against the Napoleonic troops of general Richepance sent to restore slavery on the island, which concluded with the famous cry of Louis Delgrès "Live Free or Die", who preferred to commit suicide, along with his 300 men, rather than surrender.

The event at the Memorial ACTe in Guadeloupe will journey through these tragic events supported by the visual display of Shuck One and the sound installation by Maxime Lenik, followed by a discussion.

More dates to come in 2019. Stay tuned!

Continue reading for more info on the visual, street art artist and activist Shuck One

LIVE FREE OR DIE!! From Pointe à Pitre, to Unesco and beyond...

Biography of Shuck One

Born in Pointe-A-Pitre in 1970, Shuck One moved to Paris at the age of 14 years old, where he immediately joined the emerging Hip Hop movement. The walls and the undeground arteries of the city became his principle medium of expression. Among the most active members of DCM (Da Criminal Minded), he reigned over 3 metro lines and led some of the first descents into the Parisian train stations from 1987 to 1989, which would have been classed at the time as acts of vandalism.

In 1989, with two friends, Banga and Bobo, they founded the collective "Basalt, mural expression" which actively participated in writing a new page in the history of French graffiti art until 1994, soon after he began to focus on using canvas and on developing a formal and abstract style as his unique form of expression. His works became permanent and got included in public and private collections all over the world.

Shuck One participated in the exhibit Graffiti Art, American and French, 1981-1991, at the Musée National des monuments historiques, in 1991, and TAG, at the Grand Palais, in 2009 to name but a few.

For more info on Shuck One, see link below

Caro Sika with Shuck One on the left and Emily Gonneau on the rightCaro Sika with Shuck One on the left and Emily Gonneau on the right

Caro Sika with Shuck One on the left and Emily Gonneau on the right

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