UNIT 5/Journey Into The World By Lola Osunneye
JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD
“How has African dressing developed over the years”
STATEMENT OF INTENT I have decided to work with photography and will be producing fashion outcomes acknowledging the beauty of African Culture. I am Black British with Nigerian roots and I will be photographing a model dressed in African attire. Thinking about the theme ‘Journey into the world’, I haven’t been anywhere around the world apart from Nigeria and France and I don’t have any photos taken there for evidence, so the idea of using a Double exposure was brought to mind, so I can then use secondary images of Africa and merge it with the pictures I will be taking which can be interpreted like places the model is thinking or has dreamt of visiting; a subconscious journey in their mind. I will also be discussing about the history of African clothing and focusing mainly on the country Nigeria and the ‘Yoruba’ tribe because that is where I originate from.
DOUBLE DOUBLE EXPOSURE EXPOSURE PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY
ARTIST RESEARCH
DAN MOUNTFORD
He is a contemporary artist who specializes in photography, illustration editorial & motion design in the modern age 21st century. He is a 21 year old graphic design student living in Brighton, England and very much talented. He displays a series of double exposure photography usually reflecting ethereal imagery. He’s skills to merge people with landscapes and buildings and capture and image without editing or using Photoshop is simply amazing. This photographer only brings in Photoshop to adjust tones or remove imperfections from the image. Creating images with a black and white effect adjusts the effectiveness.
ARTIST RESEARCH
ANETA IVANOVA
There was not much information of Aneta’s work on the internet. I think she's talented and she interprets double exposure photography with a female approach using females as the human subject matter. She is similar to the way Dan Mountford works as she includes locations to merge with the model. I love the black and white effects and the fact that the model is mostly looking up gracefully, she also brings to the eye the beautiful body forms of a woman.
AFRICAN FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY
HISTORICAL CONTEXT ‘Yoruba’ is a language spoken in Nigeria, it also comes with traditional dressing. Clothing in the Yoruba tribe is very significant in which it specifies wealth and status. The garment reflects Islamic influence brought in the 19th century. It began with a series of weaving which formed what the Yoruba call ‘Aso Oke’ (cloth from the hinterland); also referred to as the wrapper; it is a form of weaving in which the sleeves are attached to the gown upright that allows the ability for the wearer to bunch up the sleeves onto their shoulders which then reflects a form of abundance. The clothing is the most prestigious design in Nigerian history, the gown stands out from the crowd, imitating richness. The same goes for the men but they wear it with trousers called ‘Sokoto;, which are then drawn up around the waist to generate bulky folds in the cloth. The type of material used to produce these cloths and the size of the garment represent wealth, and the importance of the person wearing it for example it is what the President of Nigeria would wear to a special occasion. Yoruba people take pride in their clothing, their attires are processed with cotton by traditional weavers. It is gender set apart so men wear Dandogo, Danṣiki, Agbada, Buba, Ṣokoto (trousers) and matching caps called fila-ẹtu. Women wear Iro which is a wrapper around their waist and Buba which goes above, then they combine it with a matching head-gear called gele. Yoruba clothing also consists of: Aso Oke – comes in threes major colours • Alaari – a rich red • Sanyan – Light Brown • Etu – A dark blue Ofi – Pure white used as a cover cloth which can be sewn and worn Adire – Includes a series of patterns and dye Aran - a velvet clothing material sewn into Danṣiki and Kẹmbẹ, worn by the rich
SOKOTO
ASO OKE
BUBA
KABA
FILA, KEMBE AND DANSIKI
This is a form of Aso Oke and what a bride would wear for a traditional wedding
Here is a picture of My dad and I, wearing Ankara material, and he is wearing buba and sokoto and a matching hat sewn using material used for the women's head tie called Gele, this hat is called ‘FILA’
GELE
YORUBA CLOTHING – ADIRE I chose to look at Adire because it has more historical information about it. Adire is a material that includes a series of patterns and dye. It was created by African slaves, in the Seventeenth, 18th and early 19th century of West and Central Africa these prints were to demonstrate refined colour, careful planning and a passion for balance, symmetry and order. It is a resist-dye placed with indigo or is stitched with patterns that are symmetrical and then it is lightly over dyed mainly to reduce contrast. In the Yoruba land, Adire is described as the resist dyeing fabric and in the mid-1950s, adire was the fabric worn only by poor women and men using it as sleeping cloths. Later on in the 1960s it became more fashionable in West Africa, and was used for shirts as an appealing way of celebrating their legacy
1640s
2013
ANKARA CLOTHING THE BEGINNING The Ankara fabric was originally from Holland where is was referred to as Dutch Wax. Nigeria then introduced the entrepreneurial fabric into their market. In the early 60s, a woman named Mrs H.I.D. Awolowo was one of many who imported and began to sell lace fabrics. It is clear that Nigeria took over the idea and represented it as their own but in a more advanced and fashionable way.
Ankara was the fabric that the deprived embraced and dresses that were made with it was worn to ordinary parties. It was the fabric reserved for cultural occasions but never something like the runway or even a red carpet event. It was also the fabric that people believed were too loud in design or too colourful at times. It had no sense of elegance to it but now that has changed, now Ankara is everywhere, and infact on Nigerian catwalks. Ankara has somewhat become the basis of fashion. The bright colours have emerged to a positive thing and definitely more effective. Ankara is such a flexible material that there will never be an end point to its outcomes, you can literally use it to create anything. From the year 09 till this present day, Ankara has reached higher expectations showcasing in runways, red carpets, The African Collective in New York Fashion Week & British Vogue Magazine where it was shown as one of the new trends.
FASHION DESIGNER ‘STELLA JEAN’
Stella Jean portrays futuristic designs from Ankara materials, it is very modernised especially the idea of mixing English clothes like coloured tshirts, short and long sleeve, then combining it with the vibrant designs of Ankara. She makes the designs look very prestige and brings a new look to the table, I don’t see this dying down towards the future but progressing more into great things.
Stella Jean is a young emerging fashion designer born in Rome with Caribbean origins. She interprets fashion using African prints which include vibrant colours and brings a sense of elegance. The model usually takes a unique preparation technique when getting fitted. She always uses White females to model the clothing which is interesting because African culture and white culture is very diverse. It is also nice to see people of a different race embracing African clothing, its like Stella Jean is showing the world that you can look fashionable in anything. Her style reflects her heritage and bring to minds Creole cultures in which they combine the old and the new, the opposites are then combined in a feminine way and show her uniqueness.
PHOTOGRAPHER
ADA EMIHE
Ada Emihe is an upcoming photographer, although there wasn’t enough information about her but her work speaks for itself. She photographs models dressed in African clothing. I chose this set because I think its really effective, I love the plain background and the colour red that attracts your attention. I also love the way the model is posing, even though the poses are quite simple, her clothing makes her look like an African princess , she is also accessorised with lovely traditional beads.
PHOTOGRAPHER
SEYDOU KEITA Seydou Keita is an African self taught photographer lived in Bamako, Mali from 1921 to 2001. He furthered his talents by deciding to open up a studio during the 1948 and became an expert in portraiture. He received encouraging responses to his portraits and a reputation for excellence throughout West Africa mainly because of his photographic collection of his hometown Bamako. People loved his photography because of his desire to show the appreciation of beauty in art through his images. He was quite open minded allowing some of his clients to bring in things they’ll like to be photographed. He images are diverse from men women to children, many of his photos are of young men dressed European style clothing and women dressed by concealing their legs and their neck. His photographs were taken in one shot, which I find interesting, there were no mistakes, he quotes “It’s easy to take a photo, but what really made a difference was that I always knew how to find the right position, and I never was wrong. Their head slightly turned, a serious face, the position of the hands... I was capable of making someone look really good. The photos were always very good. That’s why I always say that it’s a real art” I love the sense of depth of field and the way the pictures are dark and rusty, the shade of contrast is very effective.
My Photography
OUTCOMES My initial idea was to photograph myself using self timer on the camera and edit it relating to my artists work but after discovering the fashion and photography of Stella Jean, I decided to use someone who in fact is not black but of a different race. I didn’t use a white model like Stella Jean does because I wanted to include my idea of the concept and how I would interpret it in a different way. Using a mixed race person to photograph created a beautiful contrast between her skin colour and the vibrant colours of the African dress. The idea was to seem like her journey into the world, embracing the textured dressing from Africa. It was interesting to see a different race wearing my cultural dressing, she had a good experience and it was like a realistic literal journey in wearing something in a certain way in which she has never done before.
SECOND IDEA
IDEA TWO This is my interpretation of a "Journey Into The World" using the double exposure technique. I took inspiration from Aneta Ivanova whose known to produce photographs of nude women usually showing beautiful curves and shapes of a woman's form mainly her face, arms and back. She uses silhouettes, creates a second layer with city images or landscapes and then merges the two together, fading the location with the human subject matter. She creates beautiful combinations in black and white effects which is why my outcomes are done in a similar way. My originality blossoms as the model posses with an African head scarf with textiles of Nigerian material. The secondary images used were pictures of Lagos city in Nigeria. I believe the images are successful and reached my expectations, I think the third image works the best as the two images blended very well together and its as if the cars in their different lanes are driving to the light or a journey up into her mind, so she's thinking and looking back at this country; a journey in her mind. The black and white is effective, if you look from left to right , it is shown to go from light to dark, it could be interpreted in a sense that the journey is good but ends badly because a place like Nigeria still has its corruption, poverty and faults, but in the end she's not looking away from it but looking back to it. The last photograph was done in colour, just as an experiment of how it would look if edited differently. It was rather effective using a black and white edit of a deserted slum with the picture in colour, I made sure I used a plain background for all my photos and by doing so it created a nice contrast between the chocolate skin of the model, it also draws u more to the main subject. In this image, the model is looking up with a peaceful facial expression, her pose with her arms shows gracefulness. It is like a journey into her past or roots of where her ancestors came from and the graceful facial opening of what she's become as she's looks up in a feeling of relaxation and attainment. The image used of a deserted slum blended with the model displays somewhere dirty and abandoned but produces a photograph of some-what beauty when merged together.
This is a picture of my face double exposed with a secondary image of ‘Ogun State’ which is the area in which my parents and ancestors are from. It is merged together to represent the idea of Nigeria being a part of me that flows all over my body. I took inspiration from Dan Mountford , who uses locations to combine with his images, he also produces black and white photos. I edited the image on Photoshop and blurred the background allowing the viewer to focus on my face. I think the image works well, and the chosen secondary image used was well thought and suitable.
I particularly love this photograph because of the colour contrast. I decided to edit my face with a black and white effect and leave the head tie in colour so when you look at it , the material is the first thing you see. Yellow represents a thousands of things, it reflects joy and happiness seeing as its such a bright colour. It attracts your attention and is seen before other colours, its very effective and highlights the important elements of the material.. In heraldry yellow means honor and loyalty, in this picture I am privileged to be wearing my cultural Ankara, showing off the beauty of its patterns. The yellow on the material is also combined with the colour blue which symbolizes confidence.
MY JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD
I took inspiration from the photographer Seydou Keita who produces strong black and white images of people in Africa. These photos were taken through self timer and I am wearing Nigerian clothing named Ankara. My aim was to portray my journey into the world meaning reflecting back to my roots, my parents were born and raised in Nigeria and this is the type of clothing I am exposed to in my life. I believe the outcomes were successful as it relates to my artist in which the black and white effect shows more of a darker and lighter shades and it isn’t just and ordinary black and white effect, this was done by adjusting gamma corrections, exposure and contrast. I think the whole concept is connected with my chosen look very well, as I'm photographed with braids hairstyle in which braiding hair down to the scalp is traditional in many African ethnic groups such as Yoruba tribe, in which I am originally from. I initially didn't want a plain picture but quite fashionable, the idea of allowing my hair cover my chest came from African traditional women who expose their chest and use a wrap around for below, accessorizing with beads or face paints. In the second image I am displaying that concept in an interesting way as my face and body is blurred and the wrapper and headscarf is on focus as I wanted the viewer to recognize the subject matter which is the beautiful patterns. The selection of pictures are of good quality and reached my expectations. If I was to do it again I would include a range of pictures of me wearing different Nigerian attires and not just Ankara and I would include lovely traditional beads.
SOLANGE KNOWLES is well known to be Beyonce’s sister, she is also one of Vogue’s Best Dressed Woman of the year. Vogue has picked Solange for 2years in a row now as their best dressed because of her afro hipster fashion. She portrays high-end fashion wearing a series of Ankara material clothing. She wears clothing designed by Lanre da Silva Ajayi, this inspired look is definitely spreading and becoming a marvel. She wears Nigerian West African lace patterns assembling cultural embellishment.
“How has African dressing developed over the years” I believe Nigerian clothing has advanced over the years drastically. From simple weaving to futuristic designs. The designs are getting more and more beautiful and colourful, the materials are being used to create many things such as swim wear, bangles, shoes, bags, earrings and many more. Celebrities such as Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and many more are starting to admire our style of clothing. When it comes down to traditional celebrations, many people buy the material to get it sewn in what style they want, they get the chance to choose how they wear it and reflect their own persona. When pictures are taken and everyone is wearing the same material but in different styles combines a stunning collection to look at. The materials with intriguing patterns are now used to create so many stylish clothes that are very appealing to see on the Catwalk. I am privileged to be a part of it and when I put on my own attire, it definitely differentiates itself from everything else, it is further pleasing to see people of different races wearing our attire. Who would’ve thought Vogue Editor ‘Anna Wintour’ would be walking out her door wearing a Burberry Ankara trench Coat, which looks absolutely lovely. She brought the spotlight on African clothing, the coat has been the most talked about on the 2011 Burberry collection.
BEYONCE
RIHANNA
ANNA WINTOUR Editor in Chief of American Vogue in Ankara
LADY GAGA
EVALUATION In conclusion, I very much enjoyed working on this project, I produced a series of impressive photographs. I enjoyed dressing my models and taking pictures of them. I also enjoyed taking pictures of myself, showing off my cultural background. It was beneficial for me as I learnt more about myself and where I come from. I love it that my traditional attire are now becoming big in the fashion industry, I love it that the idea has progressed from sewing simplicity to sewing sophistication. Ankara is becoming a notorious trend. As a Nigerian I was exposed to this kind of material and I remember it not being that great, at times I didn’t even desire to wear it but now you can do a million different designs, representing your own personality and the bright colours being happiness and fun to it. The idea that many celebrities are embracing the fabric, even though I live in England, this allows me to appreciate the beauty of my traditional clothing and they remind me how special and elegant the textile is