Paulo Menezes

Indian Ocean

2019 - present [work in progress]

Indian Ocean is an exploration of migration, memory and for some a once promised land.

Born in Durban, on the East Coast of South Africa to Portuguese and Scottish parents, I find myself at an intersection of place, culture, memory and identity.

The Indian Ocean carried ships that brought the first indentured workers from India in 1860. One hundred years later, the same waters brought my grandparents from Europe onto African shores. For both, the ocean represented a gateway to a seemingly better life.

In its initial stages, this work is an ongoing look at Durban’s Easternmost boundary, and its significance to the lives of people that consider KwaZulu-Natal their home. 

Durban, South Africa