J. Baker (Malediction of Cham Series), 2020

The

Malediction of Cham was a biblical justification for racism and imposing slavery upon

Black people, although this concept is essentially an ideologically driven misconception.

{20 And Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

22 And Cham saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went

backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they

saw not their father’s nakedness.

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son

Cham had done unto him.

25 And he said, Cursed be Cham; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

The explanation that Black Africans, as the “sons of Cham”, were cursed, possibly “blackened”

by their sins, was advanced during the Middle Ages, but its acceptance became increasingly

common during the slave trade of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The justification of

slavery itself through the sins of Cham was well suited to the ideological interests of the elite;

with the emergence of the slave trade, its racialized version justified the exploitation of African

labour.

The myth gained momentum and was echoed in the United States of America and the Caribbean as the Black slave trade increased.

In this new series of backlits, I claim the paradigm of intersectionality, I use the Malediction of

Cham as a metaphor and highlight those who have fought in one way or another and in a

significant way for the defense of the rights of Black people. I highlight these black personalities

who have also inspired the world and who inspire me:

Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Pearl Primus, Mohamed Ali., Mrs Walker, J. Baldwin, etc.

Technically speaking, the color black is the absence of light. The series ‘The Malediction of

Cham’ denounces the racist biblical theory, and acts in reverse. It magnificently underlines the

interiority of the black people, like a sparkling, vibrant universe, unique and alive.

The legacy of “The Malediction of Cham” is still present today. The Black person is first of all weighted by

stereotypes which he has to let go of in order to exist. In other words, no white man has to

justify being white, but a Black person must justify his values and worth. ‘The Malediction of Cham’ series of work restores the balance.