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VENUS
The fountain’s centerpiece references an 1801
propaganda artwork called The Voyage of the
Sable Venus from Angola to the West Indies,
which depicted the Middle Passage as a joyful
journey. While Walker calls the original image
“appalling,” her reinterpretation shows a
celebratory, liberated priestess.
THE SHELL GROTTO
The shell featured in the 1801 Sable Venus
artwork is also referenced in the Shell Grotto,
a smaller sculpture situated separate from
the main fountain.
PEDESTAL FIGURES
A sea captain partly
modeled on Haitian
revolutionary leader
Toussaint L’Ouverture
is one of several
figures overlooking
water filled with
drowning slaves and
infested with Damien
Hirst–inspired sharks.
In presenting many
characters, Walker
wanted to create a
“nauseating, miasmic
sensation.”
FOUNTAIN’S BASE
The ridge around
the fountain’s
base was designed
with the public
in mind, inviting
viewers to engage
with the work:
sitting is “strongly
encouraged,”
so the piece can
function “like a
town square.”
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COURTESY TATE (5)
