Politics of Fabric

For some design inspiration, we take a look at some print designs from all around Africa. Creating commemorative textiles for elections and presidential visits are a common practice in Africa. Some argue that these prints were used by many African dictators to promote themselves and brainwash the masses, others argue that they are an exercise in National pride.

“At first commemorative cloths were for funerary uses, hardly surprising given the importance of funerary ceremonies in the Gold Coast (present day Ghana), where a 1928 sample in the archives of the United Africa Company shows a woman, presumably a wealthy market trader, named only as “Mammy,” while another from 1931 showed a then deceased Ewe chief. However there is also a cloth believed to date to the 1930s that shows Kojo Thompson, a prominent campaigner for independence (Picton 2001:161.) Other cloths commemorated specific events such as a visit to the Gold Coast by the Prince of Wales”

Bernard Collet

For more inspiration check out Adire African Textiles….