2009.243 2009.242 HAZOUME
By Bree Richards
‘Everyday Magic’ September 2013
These photographs — Avion de Terre and La Roulotte 2004 — document a ubiquitous scene in Porto-Novo and other cities in Benin in West Africa: plastic jerry cans hanging precariously on motorcycles and bicycles transporting black market petrol from the Nigerian border. Often weakened from their expansion over flames to increase capacity, the jerry cans sometimes cause tragic accidents. A crucial yet expendable unit in a system of trade, and worked to breaking point, these jerry cans can be read as a symbol of economic slavery. In his choice of materials, Hazoumè underlines ongoing economic exploitation and ecological devastation by multinational oil companies, and the structures of resistance that have sprung up around this.
Connected objects
![Romuald Hazoume/ADAGP/Copyright Agency Artwork Avion de Terre this artwork made of Type C photograph on paper, created in 2004-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2009.243_001.jpg?itok=RVsgAoVl)
Avion de Terre 2004
- HAZOUME, Romuald - Creator
![Romuald Hazoume/ADAGP/Copyright Agency Artwork La Roulotte this artwork made of Type C photograph on paper, created in 2004-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2009.242_001.jpg?itok=dTyc4HmM)
La Roulotte 2004
- HAZOUME, Romuald - Creator
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