In this photographic Series, Nicola Lo Calzo explores the complex practices of memory transmission revolving around slavery in West African countries, including Ghana, Senegal, and the Republic of Benin. In a region where the Transatlantic slave trade still represents a past that is both morally and socially difficult to reconcile with, memories often survive within private spheres through rituals, religion and taboo.

With Agoudas, Nicola Lo Calzo sheds light on an historical legacy that continues to play an important role in the contemporary relationships between both descendants of African slave merchants and descendants of the enslaved. Revealing a marginalised yet persistent memory that not only shapes Yorùbá social hierarchies and collective remembrance, but reinforces to this day, the stigma of slavery within the organisation of power in West Africa. Blending documentary with conceptual approaches, the Series Agoudas uncovers a treasure trove of counter-archive that challenges dominant narratives, and honours the silenced voices of historical memory.