Ca-Va Seul 'Negri' Metal Polish

TBAFB0010

Ca-Va Seul 'Negri' Metal Polish

Cylindrical metal bottle of stove metal polish with a green background and yellow and black colouration. The manufacturer's name "Ca-Va Seul" is present with white lettering (Translation - "That Goes Without Saying") along with the word "Negri" which is placed above an image of a Black caricatured man wearing a white lobbyboy high-collared shirt with the letters "CVS" printed on the collar. The design and styling of the tin is distinctively 1960's minimalist, and the image of the Black caricatured man is noticably smaller than previous iterations made by Ca-Va Seul in response to changing political attitudes and the process of decolonization ongoing in Africa at the time. As a product of Belgium, the design is mirrored on the other side but in French rather than Dutch. Below the image of the black man is a distinguisher "No 4" which signifies the type of stove cleaner it is.

Ca-Va Seul

Metal Bottle

Facing Blackness is a multimedia exhibition that takes the public through the obscure history of portraying Black people from the colonial period to contemporary society. Using unique archive material and visual art, we show how anti-black racism became part of the Dutch 'cultural archive' and our everyday ideas, customs and utensils. On the other hand, the exhibition shows how there has always been 'everyday resistance' to various forms of racism and how Black people themselves have given and continue to give meaning to their culture and identity.

The Black Archives

Stove Polish

Black Man, Black Caricature

Shirt

c.1960's

5x5x11

Belgium

Vilvoorde

Caricature, Black Man, Metal Polish, Stove, Advertising

Ca-Va Seul

Ca-Va Seul

Richard Weaver

After Richard asked for more information from the company, the website discussing the history and local heritage of 'Ca-Va Seul' was deleted. Richard then found a snapshot of the deleted webpage through an Internet archive. [See: Bibliography]

https://web.archive.org/web/20210814175344/http://www.retroscoop.com/industrieel.php?artikel=74