Sons of Ham
Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham meets his father Noah naked and drunk in his tent while he is sleeping. Shem and Japheth, his other two sons cover Noah with a garment (cloak of love)
When Noah hears the next day what happened, he cursed his son Ham: “Servant of the servants he is to his brethren.” Hams’s offspring was cursed and had to live as “the servant of the servants.” This story was later twisted to legitimize the slave trade: Ham would have turned black because of the curse, which would predestine black Africans into slavery.
The black Africans are the descendants of Ham and Canaan.
The story of Ham is a starting point to investigate in what way this curse is of influence on a personal life. For years my brother leads a solitary life and he believes he’s cursed. With these series of paintings I’ve tried to place a silent inner world of the invisible individual against the chaos of a world from which he feels secluded.
In his inner world he can be whomever he wants to be. Inside his world borders disappear and his freedom is a discerning of all that’s possible.
Note: sizes 80 cm x 100 cm oil on canvas