Planetarische Bauern

The work of artist Dread Scott (born 1965 in Chicago; currently based in New York) explores how the past shapes the present and persists within it in new ways. His conceptual actions confront the foundations of modern society – slavery, colonialism and extractivism – cutting to the core of historical narratives. This is powerfully embodied in Slave Rebellion Reenactment, in which hundreds of Black and First Nations participants restaged the 1811 German Coast uprising in Louisiana, the largest revolt of enslaved people in US history. ‘Commemorated’ by a modest road sign at a busy intersection and overlooked by mainstream archives, this pivotal moment was preserved primarily through activist scholarship. Initiated by Dread Scott and filmed by John Akomfrah, the reenactment became a landmark act of collective remembrance and community empowerment, reclaiming a revolutionary chapter in US history inspired by the Haitian Revolution of 1791. Although the 1811 revolt ultimately failed to seize New Orleans and abolish slavery, it paved the way for many powerful forms of future resistance.