Commemorative cloth
This particular project was extremely personal to me. I focused on the theme of memory and family. Referencing traditional African commemorative cloths, I created two digital large portraits of my grandparents, using iconography synonymous with their respective interests. The final pieces were printed on canvas fabric and silk, 34” x 57”.
My late grandmother (gogo), is Motswana. The pattern used in her print is an interpretation of the actual pattern of her dress, which was passed onto my mother. Gogo always proudly wore garments made from traditional Motswana print (leteisi). Zimbabwe does not have a national pattern, which prompted me to create my own pattern for my khulu. The icons are inspired by things I associate with him: the SOS Children’s Village logo to represent his charity work, the lines reference the Zulu shield who our ancestors orginated from, the graduation cap represents his background as an educator and the rooster is a nod to how he always slipped me chicken skin after dinner as a child.
Bordering gogo’s portrait are a collection of flowers and corner flowers of African violets - her favorite flower. Each flower is the birth flower for each of my grandparents’ six children. The saplings represent the grandchildren: the budding generation in our family.
