Romuald Hazoumè
Tricky Dicey Die (TDD), 2016
Metal, plastic, wood, mirror
220 x 220 x 220 cm
Tricky Dicey Die (2016), presents the stark realities facing African migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean, at the mercy of callous human traffickers whose decrepit vessels are in ever-diminishing supply....
Tricky Dicey Die (2016), presents the stark realities facing African migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean, at the mercy of callous human traffickers whose decrepit vessels are in ever-diminishing supply. The die in question, a truncated cube, is loaded against any successful outcome. The numbers on each of the usual faces are replaced by the outlined shape of a dead child, hauntingly reminiscent of the image of Alyan Kurdi. The cut-off corners of the cube provide eight new, triangular surfaces, which represent ‘success.’ Mathematically speaking, there is a 25% greater probability (8:6) of escaping alive once the die is rolled, but in reality the shape of the die is such that the chances of it balancing on one of the small triangular surfaces is far less likely, given than that the hexahedron’s unbalanced weight will ensure it comes to rest with a crushed child’s silhouette on top. The die is covered in recuperated sandals, found washed ashore on the beaches of Benin, so that each sandal sole represents the memory of a lost migrant who never made it.
Exhibitions
Romuald Hazoumè: Expression(s) decoloniale(s) #2 / Decolonial Expression(s) #2, Château Duc de Bretagne, Nantes, France, 2021Romuald Hazoumè: All in the Same Boat, October Gallery, London, UK, 2016