The painter “Blow” was summoned this Tuesday morning (May 6), before the Pointe-à-Pitre investigating judge in the case of the table disputed temporarily, a few months ago, at the Arts Center.
As a reminder, the latter represented President Emmanuel Macron beheaded, the head brandished in the air.
After 30 minutes of hearing in camera in the magistrate’s office and an indictment for incitement to violence, the plastic artist came out free accompanied by his lawyers.
“I do not recognize this legitimacy”
The artist “Blow” expressed himself after his hearing:
It once again puts back to me in doubt the legitimacy of all this way of managing people’s lives, what we do, what we think, how we have to say or do things. And that is a problem for me in my Guadeloupe sovereignty to be judged on things like that. For me, it reveals colonialism, injustice and illegitimacy of France in fact. It bothers me to say that like that, but that’s what I see and I can’t silence it anymore. I could never expect it all. I was quietly at my house making my little table in a quiet area. There, I’m still under emotion, it’s weird. It’s anything. Industrial. I risk something with justice. It’s me, intimately, I consider that it is anything and I do not recognize this legitimacy. So I consider that whatever they decide, it’s not my problem.
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“A way to have access to the procedure”
For his defense, Me tacit patrice returns to the procedure.
It is a summons for indictment. It means that when you are summoned, so that the procedure can take its course, you need to have access to the file. The indictment is a way to have access to the procedure. It is practically automatic. Besides, the offense is both a civil offense and a criminal offense. This does not prejudge our customer’s subsequent criminal responsibility. And that poses real basic problems. It is absolutely necessary to have on these questions a global position which recalls the principles. We have organized a defense which is a collective defense to recall the whole kaleidoscope of the principles which are violated by legal action which is brought against Mr. Blow. I will not go into detail, but the President of the Republic believes that it is a table that would be an incentive to the Commission of violence without this violence having been carried out. This is, basically, the offense.
“He has the right to express themselves”
Note that thirty supports were present in court with flags, including José Bois-Campeche, president of the MIR (International movement for repairs).
Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. The muddyness of this freedom of expression, here in Guadeloupe, is one of the elements, like many others, of colonial expression and the colonial domination against which we are fighting. He has the right to express themselves. And I’m even going to say better, he is a Guadeloupe artist, he is expressed in the name of the Guadeloupe people. Because remember, during the famous plastic arts lessons it is well taught that the artist ultimately is expressed for the people. It’s us. And any condemnation that would eventually be made – which I absolutely do not believe – would be a condemnation of the Guadeloupe people and their right to expression.
