Untitled (2009)

Clarke, Simon (2013) Untitled (2009). In: Textile Design. Thames & Hudson Ltd, London. ISBN 978-1856696876

Abstract / Summary

Untitled (2009): This work interrogates boundaries between art and design traditions and, concurrently, transnational iconographies., A photographic and digitally generated printed textile artwork following field photography in Stone Town, Zanzibar and the Likoni River area near Mombasa, Kenya. In an investigation of kanga cloth and the cultural impressions of Eastern Africa, this piece presents colour and black and white photography in virtually-generated collage; in 2011 the work was presented. Images shown in tandem are mimetic of cultures selling and wearing kanga garments in identical pairs; similarly, the text invokes the script which is printed onto kanga cloth as simultaneous adornment and communication. The work’s text is patterned to evoke the visuality of Swahili characters printed on kanga cloth. As a further correspondence between pattern and communication, the text repeats to evoke textile patterning through writing whilst echoing the song performed by the taraab’s original matriarch. The text is in Swahili: ‘Wache waseme, wacha udaku’ (Let them talk, let them gossip)., The work’s painterly elements are virtually generated to reflect topics within English abstract painting through the colour palette of East African coastal landscape and emphasise Peter Lanyon’s contemporary influence. This piece is presented in Textile Design by Simon Clarke (Laurence King Publishing, 2011) the Chapter 2 – Printed Textiles sub-section on motifs, patterns and styles. The artwork is captioned: ‘The blend of photography, text and virtually generated brush marks in computer-aided design (CAD) for this textile design piece by Simon Clarke (2009) demonstrate some of the devices that digital design can contribute to the exploration of new combinations of motifs, visual styles and pattern in the generation of innovative printed textile design.’

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