Tag: traditional

‘Embroidery For A Long Song’ // merging the traditional and the modern in a neon-inspired meditation on female energy

‘I rise, I run. I even try dancing’ – these are the first words one hears after being greeted by the music from ‘Khaleeji’ (the ten piece band of folk singers) in the opening scene of ‘Embroidery For A Long Song‘. This short film is a neon-inspired meditation on female energy, and it creates a bridge between the modern and traditional by examining the histories of the Gulf region through music, fashion and poetry.

Filmmaker Amirah Tajdin has always been fascinated by the connection between fashion and film. With designer Faissal El-Malak‘s concept for ‘Embroidery For A Long Song’ she was finally able to explore this. A few months before Faissal asked Amirah to get on board with the film, she had created a fashion film for his Spring/Summer 18 collection. They had been friends for a while, but while working on the fashion film they discovered a new kind of creative synergy. When Faissal was approached by the W Hotels and Mixcloud team a few months later to curate the Dubai edition of their Future Rising event he automatically thought of making a second film with Amirah.

Faissal was given the broad brief to combine music with ideas about the future and a wonderland. These elements came together in his mind through nostalgic memories of the traditional music shows and concerts he used to watch on tv while growing up in the Gulf. “The sets of these shows were oddly futuristic; they created something very interesting visually where the tradition was respected and preserved within an ultra-modern context. It was sort of a wonderland where technology and an abundance of LED lights created a space to express one’s self fully. This was not a foreign concept to the way we live our daily life in a region that has seen exponential growth and has embraced very quickly modern and futuristic architecture as a norm, but that still hangs on very strongly to tradition, most notably in the way most people still wear traditional garments on a daily basis.”

With these memories and his desire to further his knowledge about women who play traditional music, Faissal began to ask around about this practice. He was also influenced by the words and pseudonyms used by millennials who revived the tradition of spoken word poetry through platforms such as Flickr and MySpace. These pseudonyms – ‘Eye of the Gazelle’, ‘Daughter of the falcon’ and ‘The one with the khol lined eyes’ – are interpreted visually through the animated illustrations that appear at particular moments in the film. “The expression of traditional music is in itself a collaboration between sung poems, the traditional garments, beats and dances coming together to create a feast for the senses,” Faissal explained. The connection between poetry, fashion and music is intimately displayed in how the film unfolds.

At the core of Faissal’s approach to fashion is his appreciation and celebration of Middle Eastern textiles and motifs, designing women’s ready-to-wear garments that offer combine the traditional and the modern. There is a parallel display of this in the film. A string of symbolic gestures echo this, such as the ironing and incensing of the main character’s hair and her dancing in the hall on her own. These traditional references are juxtaposed against the futuristic elements of the W Hotel hallways and neon lights. Trippy, distorted sonic encounters are merged with the instruments and chanting by Khaleeji. A poem is used as a device to narrate the film, inviting viewers into the mind of the main character.

This film is a loud celebration and a quiet reflection all at once. It offers itself as a compilation of memories presented in a way that excites sight and sound.

View the full film below.

11 May 2018
Culturist Flows – an editorial appreciating mediums of cultural communication

Pale, rocky landscapes. Oversized garments gently hanging onto shoulders. Transparent fabrics floating in sync with the wind’s rhythm. An arm outstretched, inviting viewers into a sandy dreamscape.

The editorial ‘Culturist Flows’, conceptualised by writer and stylist Tina Tshangela, sees her taking on the role of the one in front of the lens. This allowed her to directly convert her vision into the soft placement of limbs and facial expressions present in the images. Her eyes interact with the camera as if turning to look at a friend, demonstrating an openness that complements the vastness of the outstretched beach behind her. Teaming up with Mandy Nash for photography and Megan Wridway for hair and makeup, feminine energy filters into each image.Tina describes herself as a Culturist; an advocate of culture. By culture she refers to the DNA of societies that manifest in multiple ways, including hair, makeup and fashion. Considering this, Tina wanted to animate the different mediums of cultural communication while pointing to religious and traditional references that make up her own experiences. Her styling channels the spirit of Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto.

“Yohji Yamamoto is a big muse of mine because of the techniques he uses in his work, which mixes [the] traditional tailoring of garment construction [with] deconstructive design. I referenced these elements in the styling of the shoot by taking traditional tailored pieces and creating modern deconstructive silhouettes and shapes [for] complete looks. I fused these looks with Afrofuturistic movements and [an Afrofuturistic] mood to marry these influences together.”

Movement, particularly movement that mimics water, is a strong element in the shoot. Having mentioned that the symbol for her star sign, Aquarius, is water, Mandy suggested this be translated into the images. This is made present directly with the beach in the background, as well as through the various fabrics drifting behind Tina. Her body suggests waters kinetic quality more indirectly. “I wanted my body to express the flow of the ocean tides which flow harmoniously connecting different parts of the world together without a beginning or end,” Tina expressed.

Interludes in the editorial appear with images from a trip to Moonscape in Namibia that Mandy inserted between shots of Tina. “There was an incredible stillness, and standing so small and alone in front of such a vast landscape brought about much self-reflection. The stillness of the landscape creates ‘pause moments’ in the flow of the story to allow for moments of self-reflection between the flowing imagery of Tina.”

Reflecting on the process for this editorial, Tina expressed that she was “stepping out of my comfort zone of styling and dressing other people…When I saw the final pictures it was like looking at my higher self and it was very empowering.”

By combining movement, styling that plays on garment deconstruction and Tina’s own experiences, this editorial manages to communicate an appreciation for the cultural medium of fashion.

Credits:

Art direction and photography – Mandy Nash

Concept, stylist and model – Tina Tshangela

Hair and Makeup – Megan Wridway

Look 1

Red Top H&M, Pants and Jacket Arhan Lindoor, Belt Markhams, Socks FentyXStance, Sandals Birkenstock.

Look 2

White oversized shirt Jet, Pants Arhan Lindoor, Bag Voom Voom Vintage, Socks FentyXStance.

Look 3

Underwear H&M, Coat Arhan Lindoor, Stockings Woolworths.

Look 4

Striped shirt and dress Arhan Lindoor, Socks FentyXStance, Shoes Zara.

Look 5

T-shirt Arhan Lindoor, Black silk shirt Vintage and the City, Stockings Woolworths, Sandals Birkenstock.

7 March 2018
Mashayabhuqe, the Modern Maskandi intersects tradition and the avant-garde to capture the millennial mood

Mashaya shows up to Father Coffee just a few minutes late for our interview and he quickly allows me into the landscape of his life these days. He is fresh from AfroPunk in Paris and we fall into step chatting about his experiences in Paris.

He is refreshed and ready to work on more music, now on the other side of Amancamnce mixtape, released last year with a host of cosigns from the upper echeleons of the creative industries along with a feature from his friend uMalume KoolKati and a sampling of the original Urban Zulu Busi Mhlongo.

The Black Excellence Show first released in 2013 introduced Mashayabhuqe KaMamba as someone to watch, and be enthralled by, it presented him and his unique blend of the traditional and Zulu with the digital and urban. He has even been successful enough to have a few copycats, but he’s already onto the next concept, and scheming on greener pastures.

Mashaya occupies a niche space in South Africa’s music scene, his influences and style collide the past and the future, and his perspective is about walking in creative purpose and pushing the boundaries of what performance and urban music mean within this space. An individual steeped in his tradition and culture, with a mind opened to the global possibilities of his craft.

‘Why are you here? Am I here to make things that are acceptable to the community or am I here to challenge people’s minds?’

With that said this alchemist of modernity and Maskandi is doing it like it hasn’t been done in a minute, and he has worked with some of South Africa’s legends. I mean real legends; KingTha For The Babies, was a groundbreaking challenge for emerging artists to win a free feature from Le Grande Artiste herself, Thandiswa Mazwai. Mashayabuqhe won it. Now, they have a song, ‘Izayoni’ together. We both geek hard for a second. Then he says, ‘She’s amazing. I listen to the song and pinch myself all the time, her music moulded uMashaya, noBusi Mhlongo, no James Blake and Bon Iver…’

For a moment I consider Mashaya’s forebears and then him as the next bearer of the legacy both Busi Mhlongo and Thandiswa have built upon. That pioneering perspective that broke new ground and resonated with the culture of coming to Johannesburg to follow a dream and grappling with urbanity and modernity, dealing with the anonymity and isolation of the city while using it to propel yourself to new heights. It is not a new story, but it presents us with a new face, a new hero every so often; some of them shed their skin and make a whole new persona, eschewing their roots for a brighter future. Mashaya revels in his culture and eschews expectations and definitions, consistently curating his own style, always looking to do what the industry is too afraid to; break musical ground, bring the truth of South Africa to the fore using its culture and its current permutation as an outpost of western culture, to tell the story that we can relate to and be inspired by.

His energy, wonder and sincerity are on a hundred this crisp Jozi morning; he lets me in on how he grew up in a village eNkandla and how most of his English was studied from the television and music he was exposed to at his family’s home. Then he wound up working in television in Jozi with his most faithful friend uMatsoso who has supported Mashaya’s career from its infancy and continues to call him to this day to inform him of the latest copycat to appropriate Mashaya’s sound. These simple things, these pieces of his history give context to the person I see before me now, that understands and reconstructs the relations between art, technology and tradition and refuses to be pigeonholed or defined by anybody but himself. And he’s already onto the next one.

‘I just dropped Sun City flow, and there’s a lot of attachments to it, it could be the jail, or the casino, or any city in Africa because there’s always sun. This song is about sharing my experiences with the kids; letting them know that if you’re a raw talent, they will try to chain you.’

Mashayabhuque chooses substance and creativity when it comes to his art, thus staying true to the source to leave awe and imitators in his wake while the world waits and watches to see just how far he takes it.

Editorial image credits

Photography: Hanro Havenga

Styling: Jamal Nxedlana

Image 1:

Mashayabhuqe wears a suit by Diego Ranieri, beret by Crystal Birch and a neckpiece by Pichulik. (Accessories stylist own)

Image 2:

Mashayabhuqe wears trousers by Diego Ranieri, beret by Crystal Birch. (Accessories stylist own)

Image 3:

Mashayabhuqe wears a shirt by Studio W, trousers by Diego Ranieri, beret by Crystal Birch. (Accessories stylist own)

27 July 2016
Sewing black history back on to the streets – in conversation with Nkuli Mlangeni, founder of The Ninevites.

The Ninevites was a resistance movement who scoured the South African frontier during the late 1900s. Having started the collective under The Ninevites name in 2012, Nkuli Mlangeni would do so because of how fascinated she was in its story, which was shrouded in so much myth.

What the Kagiso native found crazy was that so many people didn’t even know of their story. The Ninevites lends its name from the Bible, whose people were religious rebels who challenged God. These young men engaged in criminal activities under a colonised South Africa and sought to challenge the injustices faced by themselves as well as their people.

Yet what pushed the artist, designer, and collaborator to choose this name was the context in which she found herself working at the time. She worked in the media and curated pieces in Cape Town, and started to see how in spaces, advertising in particular, black culture was being misrepresented.

Fashion as the political

Nkuli decided that she wanted to make things, things like those made during fashion week, but would use “normal” looking people as her models. It is in the normal that she finds her inspiration. For her, black style and how she sees it occurring on downtown Johannesburg’s streets and walkways is being shown in “Move” and “Drum” Magazine. She believes two different styles are at play: those represented in Fashion week and those where she get her inspiration, from such streets and her neighbours.

The artist draws her style from Ausi Lele, from her mother’s friends, guys, the people who hang out in Kagiso. She loves the kind of style that you don’t pay too much for, the kind that requires you to work with things you already have and are most practical.

Yet there is another goal within her work, and that is about wanting to bring people together through fabric.

Nkuli recently came back from having done research in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. For her, South American cultures have similarities to those found in South Africa. Her interests lie in south-to-south collaborations where our histories are similar: there is a shared sense of a colonial history and a sense of responsibility to our waning traditions. She wants to make collaborations within this space, learning from each other’s ideas and the techniques of each other’s crafts.

It is in such a space that The Ninevites function to bring artists, designers and crafts people together. Nkuli uses this name as a facilitator in making such projects come to life. She spends her time researching and looking for artists, and then working with them to move an idea forward.

In her latest project, Nkuli worked within the collective to create intricate handmade rugs. Under the collective’s name, she brought two graphic designers, one from Brazil and the other from South Africa, to work on the styling of the rugs. She also brought in a weaver, Mario – a resident in the city of Lima in Peru.

Tradition made for now

It is through such works that we see Nkuli’s obsession with tradition, drawing particular inspiration from the way it is worn by those who follow it. She gives the example of Zionists, whose religion is steeped in traditional beliefs. She loves how their followers wear their uniforms with such pride, taking care to keep them crisp and white. Right now her biggest inspiration comes from her Ndebele heritage, paying much homage to their motifs in her works.

Nkuli’s latest works with textiles yielded a piece titled “Mangaliso rug” – a modern take on signature Ndebele design. Its name contains a history, yet its function as a rug makes it applicable to our every day lives.

Nkuli explains that in her previous works she would print the images of black heroes on children’s T-shirts. She does so to remind people that these people exist. In giving these works the images and names of people in black history, the designer has brought their story back into our lives. She sees such names as a good entry point to having the much needed conversation about our past and to make people question their own understandings of it.

Her other works also hold the names of Mangalizo, Queen Zinga, and Thomas Sankara. Nkuli is interested in such stories. She says many are not happy ones, yet they are stories that need to be told and are still relevant, as many black men and woman go through such hell, still today. They are “garden boys” during the day and then fathers at night. Many of them have grown without fathers and yet we have judges who proceed to throw stupid comments about black men, knowing nothing of the many lives that she knows nothing about.

Yet Nkuli does not consider herself political. As much as her references may be seeped in the political, she does not think of herself as knowing or being educated enough to talk about politics. She wants to work from intuition. She does it because it looks good and because it is accessible to those who would make use of it.

Black life as living history

In creating such works of homage to black life, Nkuli also hopes to move away from the misrepresentation and commodification of black life. Citing the works of Thabiso Sekgala, Santu Mofokeng, and her favourite photographer of all time Sabelo Mlangeni, she sees their works as showing the lives of black people not as objects for consumption. She draws much inspiration from the works of Alexia Webster who documented pantsula life, seeing their works as the celebration of black lives.

Looking at her work we see a creator unashamedly and beautifully borrow from local crafts and culture. We see her work as paying a type of homage to a living culture under threat in South Africa but by also remoulding it. She creates art that we can wear and use in our homes so as to re-introduce us to black heroes of our past. In doing so, Nkuli shows us how our culture can evolve to suit the complex interactions that youth have to engage in. As black bodies, we wear our history in our skin, in our clothes, and our ideas.

Nkuli’s work is tantamount to such an expression. Her work reflects a navigation of black selves in a post-colonial space in search for our own spaces. She sees fashion, textiles and style as very much being inspired by her love of cloth. Yet for her, it also plays a much deeper function of connecting people and their ideas to a common purpose.

You can follow Nkuli on Instagram and on her blog.

23 May 2016