auction

Photo credits: Fundación Puntos de Encuentro
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The Weavers of Mampuján

2009
Quilt: fabric on fabric
145 x 96 cm

Against a blue background representing the sea, a slave ship floats, signalling the abhorrent trade in human beings. The Weavers of Mampuján depict the auctioning of millions of African captives—chained, torn from their homeland and families, and reduced to commodities. At the centre stands a white man with a gavel, surrounded by elegantly dressed buyers bringing Black individuals to market, unjustly subjected to a fatal destiny. The work recalls the profound Article 17 of the Constitution: “Slavery, servitude, and the trafficking of human beings in all forms are prohibited.