08/05/2022
Revived and Reimagined
Afrika was never a country. ‘African’ was never a language.
The history of Afrikan writing symbols is extremely rich and vast even though colonial history will have you believe there was little or one way of visual communication amongst Afrikan, rock art paintings being the obvious choice. This is an outdated belief that I find the pleasure of debunking.
My curiosity towards Afrikan writing systems begins with a book by Professor Saki Mafundikwa titled Afrikan Alphabets. In this book I was fascinated by the Nguni Symbol Writing system as it was closer to the Southern African context, which I am blessed to call home. Through this journey and research I asked where the inspiration for my work came from as design school predominantly offered European principles of design found in Modernism and Bauhaus, but never really explored those of Afrika. This was an important turning point in finding myself through typography and writing scripts.
*Madímì, is an ongoing project looking at the revival of Nguni Symbol Writing examining Indigenous Knowledge embedded within writing systems. The aim is to reveal how this knowledge may be authentically and thoughtfully brought into contemporary visual practice and passed on to following generations through capturing Indigenous Knowledge, which in essence is ‘living’ knowledge, capable of being preserved and transferred, while being produced and imagined in contemporary and future ways.
This then brings me to the question of how design can become a vehicle for the preservation and promotion of Indigenous Knowledge Systems. A zulu proverb says, “Indlela ibuzwa kwabaphambili” (The road ahead is directed by those who lead) and so organically my research led me to the elders who've inspired me, the likes of mama Esther Mahlangu who is well known for her practice of Ndebele patterns and, among many titles an Afrikan philosopher of science, Dr Zulumathabo Zulu to mention a few.
For many years now, it has been my desire to do something for Afrika Day as it is a special day for me to celebrate the greatness that I come from and the inspiration for what I do. I am proudly Afrikan! And it brings me the greatest pleasure to present to you my solo exhibition, an extension of my MA thesis project. Revived and Reimagined. When you walk through this exhibition, you will see *madímì’s conceptual and practical connection to Indigenous Knowledge and the unpacking of my creative process in terms of how it fluidly flow/ed between keeping and creating knowledge. This two day exhibition begins with an opening on 25 May 2022 and ends with a series of workshops, 26 May 2022.
Exhibition Address: Fiberspace Gallery, Katarina Bangata 40, Stockholm
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/34z7cV7av
Dress code: Afrikan
Looking forward to seeing you on AFRIKA DAY!
AfriKa spelt with a K (not a typo)
