Tioup, tak, etc. - Couleurs textiles du Sénégal : Some photos.

French African textile expert Anne Grosfilley who kindly sent these photographs wrote -  “Here are some photographs on the exhibition about dyeing in Sénégal. It is superb, full of Colours. It is set as a series of portraits, so you can read the story of the people behind the crafts, and learn about their training and everyday Life. All the aspects of dyeing are presented, from traditional plants to synthetic dyes, from dyeing to tailoring. The exhibition ends in a tailor workshop, where you can have a go trying on boubous of different styles. All the steps of the transformation of the cloth allow to understand the process to get the different patterns. Unfortunately, there is no catalogue, but a series of lectures and workshops.  This is an exhibition I recommend, and the Clermont Ferrand Bargoin Textile museum is a place to know, as they have a big interest in Africa. Their next project is to host the exhibition of the second edition of FITE (International Festival of Extraordinary Textiles), and after that they curate an exhibition on unusual Moroccan carpets.”

The exhibition “Tioup, tak, etc. - Couleurs textiles du Sénégal” continues at Musée Bargoin, Clermont-Ferrand, France until March 31. There is a programme of events, details here.

Click on the photos to enlarge. All photos copyright Anne Grosfilley. If you don’t already have it, do lookout for Anne’s book which is still available via Amazon.

Senegalese Men’s Robes – some early C20th images.

“Trader from Cayor”, circa 1910, photographer Edmond Fortier.  Indigo resist dyed robe.

“Allioune Sô, chief of the Fulani of Sine”, circa 1910, photographer Edmond Fortier.

“Wolof chief and his griot,” circa 1910, photographer Edmond Fortier.

“Fulani chief” circa 1900, photographer Edmond Fortier.

“Thiès. Three elegant men” circa 1900-10, photographer/publisher E.H, Thiès.

“Thiès. Young Wolofs”, circa 1900-10. Photographer/publisher Harimann.

 

“Dakar (Senegal). Senufo types” circa 1900-10. Photographer/publisher Albaret.

“West Africa. Arrival of a Grand Marabout” circa 1900-20, photographer unknown. A marabout is an Islamic scholar and teacher.

 

“Dakar. Senegalese man, festival dress” circa 1900. Photographer/publisher P.H. & Co.

“Dakar. Senegalese students.” circa 1900-10. Photographer unknown.

All photos author’s collection.

New Exhibition in Saint Louis, Senegal

If any of you are visiting the wonderful town of Saint-Louis this year please do take the time to see and support this important new institution. Details here.

New exhibition–“HOLLANDAISE: a journey into an iconic fabric” in Dakar, Accra, Douala

HOLLANDAISE: a journey into an iconic fabric
10 April–1 June 2013

Raw Material Company 
Centre pour l'art, le savoir et la société
Center for art, knowledge and society
4074 bis Sicap Amitié 2
BP 22710 Dakar, Senegal
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 10am–7pm

“Raw Material Company announces the exhibition HOLLANDAISE: a journey into an iconic fabric. The exhibition features newly commissioned works by Godfried Donkor, Abdoulaye Konate, Wendelien van Oldenborgh, Willem de Rooij and Billie Zangewa. The project is the result of a curatorial collaboration between Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (SMBA) and Raw Material Company in the context ofProject 1975. 
Fabrics have played an important role in the decolonization of knowledge. Fabrics tell stories, family stories, stories of commerce, of labor, of creativity, of skills.The background for this exhibition is the long-standing commercial relationship between The Netherlands and Africa. The title refers to the colourful printed fabrics that are exported from The Netherlands to Africa, and are generally known in West Africa as Hollandaise, or Dutch Wax. 
It was Dutch textile companies, such as Vlisco, who developed mass production and commercial applications for Indonesian, Javanese batik in the middle of the 19th century, and found their largest markets at the Atlantic shores of Africa. Today the bright and distinctive wax prints are regarded as typically African, while there is nothing African to them. It is the result of complex globalization processes that created a constructed image of Africanness.
Wax prints belong to the history of alternative cartography. It is the history of the appropriation of knowledge and skills that were invented and produced in Java, became incorporated in Dutch colonial trade routes, traveled and eventually acquired a new identity in Africa. By making the wax prints their own, Africans challenged the ideas that link culture with authenticity, identity with territory, as well as the opposition of modernity versus tradition.
The colourful and indeed irresistibly beautiful fabric is an all-time business for women traders across West Africa. Generations of women in Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana have built commercial empires, and such wealth with the trade of Dutch Wax prints that they are referred to as "Nana-Benz," by virtue of their ability to afford the German car. It is fascinating how quickly this purely European product was appropriated, embraced and adopted as a means of self-expression to embody what is today generally perceived as the quintessential sign of African authenticity. 
HOLLANDAISE: a journey into an iconic fabric is curated by Koyo Kouoh. Five artists from diverse practices and backgrounds were commissioned new works that interpret the trading relations and the cultural aesthetics embedded in the history of this fabric.  
The exhibition presents a two-channel video, The Currency of Ntoma, by Godfried Donkor. The video tells the story of the tradition of collecting wax prints by Ghanean women. Untitled, Abdoulaye Konate's new two-meter-by-seven-meter tapestry, depicts a moment of celebration amidst current war and politcal tensions. La Javanaise is a challenging two-channel cinematic dissection of the Dutch colonial enterprise by Wendelien van Oldenborgh. Blue to Black by Willem de Rooij is a silent critique of racial categorization translated into a specifically designed and manufactured fabric. With the silk tapestriesAngelina Rising, Billie Zangewa subverts the notion of freedom and liberation with one of the most popular Vlisco designs. 
The educational programme during the opening days includes master classes with students and faculty of Dakar's Ecole Nationale des Arts with artists Willem de Rooij and Billie Zangewa as well as a two-day video workshop for young emerging women artists lead by Wendelien van Oldenborgh. The programme continues in May 2013 with lectures by Abdoulaye Konate (May 10) and Françoise Vergès (May 22). 
The exhibition comes with a highly illustrated bilingual (F/E) catalogue with writings by political scientist and cultural historian Françoise Vergès; artist and researcher Senam Okudzeto; and curators Jelle Bouwhuis, Koyo Kouoh and Kerstin Winking. In collaboration with the network of independent art centers in Africa, the exhibition travels to Nubuke Foundation in Accra in July 2013, as well as to Doual'art in Douala in September 2013. 
Raw Material Company acknowledges the generous support of the Mondriaan Fonds and the embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in Dakar.
For more information please contact: mariecisse@rawmaterialcompany.org.”