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Installation. Video HD, archives and books.
Variable dimensions
Codex is read in two stages; from the front, a video is projected, with a sculpture of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, one of Louis XIV's key ministers, at the center of its image. Within a neutral frame, a dark liquid flows and spreads across the pristine portrait. The video exposes the viewer to the slow evolution of the fluid as it cascades between the details of the bust.
Beside the video, a display of documents is arranged on a tablet. It consists of books, legal documents, copies of manuscripts, and decrees. The documentation takes as its starting point the Code Noir initiated by Jean-Baptiste Colbert—the edict that established the legal framework for slavery in France's overseas territories. It unfolds chronologically up to the contemporary era, traversing various legislations at different historical moments. The entire collection highlights the historical and legal ties that facilitated the exploitation and management of specific populations (slaves, indigenous peoples, foreigners).