Clément Siatous

Clément Siatous (born 17 February 1947) is a Mauritian and British painter of Chagossian origin. He is known for his paintings depicting the daily life of the Chagossians before their exile.

Biography Clément Siatous was born on 17 February 1947 on Diamond Island in the atoll of Peros Banhos, in the Chagos Archipelago. Chagos was at the time a dependent territory of Mauritius, itself a colony of the British Empire. At birth, Clément Siatous was therefore a citizen of the British dependent territories. He lost his father at the age of three, and moved with his family for the first time at the age of five to Diego Garcia, the main island of the archipelago. He then had to move to Mauritius in the 1960s to treat his ailing mother. Like many Chagossians, he was prevented from returning to Chagos by the British authorities and had to stay in Mauritius.

He left school at 16, and began to paint while doing side jobs. Following an exhibition, the Mauritian President Cassam Uteem decorated him in 1998 as a member of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (MSK), one of the highest honours in Mauritius. His paintings of the Chagos regularly depict work in the coconut plantations, life in the villages, and fishing scenes. Siatous says that he is inspired by his own childhood memories and those of the Chagossian community.

He has exhibited his Chagos paintings in Mauritius on several occasions. In 2015, the curator Paula Naughton organised his first exhibition abroad, at the Simon Preston Gallery in New York. Clément Siatous also designed the logo of the Chagos Refugees Group, one of the main organisations representing the Chagossians, of which he is a founding member.

Exhibitions

Port Louis, 1997 Sagren, Simon Preston Gallery, New York, 2015 The Chagos Embassy of Puerto Rico, Embajadada, San Juan, 2016 Inside the Nest, Simon Preston Gallery, New York, 2017 CONDO Unit, Galeria Jacqueline Martins, São Paulo, 2018 CHAGOS: Cultural Heritage Across Generations, Plaza, Rose-Hill, 2018 New Art Dealers Alliance NADA House, New York, 2021 Chagossian Islands History, Crawley Museum, Crawley, 2021