Tany Mena

On 25th July 2020, the bulk carrier MV Wakashio, with 3,800 tonnes of fuel oil, ran aground off the East coast of Mauritius. Twelve days later, the oil spilled onto the coral reefs, causing the worst ecological disaster ever to occur in the region.

Ebony narrates the history of the forests and plants of Mauritius. From Dutch, French and English slave trading colonies, to the current homogenization of land by the tourism industry, the project investigates how Western economic ambitions and the perception of islands as utopic paradises have shaped the landscape. Early colonists, writers and poets describe the country, whilst the distant drums of the marooned slaves beat in the forest.