The art of piracy

A pirate ship, ‘illegally’ navigating waters, carrying illicit cargo. In times of empire and the transatlantic trade of enslaved people, ‘cargo’ could also mean ‘enslaved Africans’.

Acts of piracy versus privateering in service of expanding an empire become a matter of perspective, depending on allegiance. Inspired by Herman Melville’s Benito Cereno, this scene from a slaver’s ship considers agency, freedom of movement - within the ship and across the seas - and perceptions of power dynamics. When cargo mutinies, to become human again, first they become pirates.