Global Visual Culture

Parachut Landing

http://www.vimeo.com/5003279

When the birds rhyme to you in their lingua franca while you stroll the empty streets or overloaded blogs. Those early Saturday mornings are perfect for roaming the digital planet or the streets.  My favourite days are when you come across great work or a cute shabby store you haven’t seen before.  Pour example Steve’s Scott’s new video for the Birdy Nam Nam. The London based animator and illustrator knows how to captivate the hasty mind through the power of story telling.

According to him, Parachut Landing is a sci-fi adventure gone strangely wrong. Influenced by Planet Sauvage, 80s kids cartoons, Nausica and Prog rock album covers.

Personally, I love the Fantastic Planet-styles aesthetics with clever contemporary touches; Kraftwerk in a new pimp coat.

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Petals of Blood

Back in 99, I came across Ngugi’s Petals of Blood in a tiny bookstore in an even tinier town in the Netherlands. It was during a time, where I was piecing together my identity and practicing the art of identifying me in the mirror (JOKE).

Back to Ngugi: Ngugi has seen many different faces of Africa; tribalism (disgusting word), happiness, corruption, activism, (neo) colonialism etc. Faces, which made him and many other like minded people, disappear or exiled to promised lands such as America or UK. His lifetime spans much of what Africa has experienced in the past century.

I find his work deeply political, deeply engaging and deeply provoking.  Even though he’s hailed across the globe, I believe my generation of twenty-something Afropops, is not familiar with his fiction or drama. Forget those who are born after the world cup in Germany.

My obsession with collecting interviews comes in handy. Especially since I saved a great (but lengthy) interview with Ngugi. In this particular article he discusses oral tradition, performance and Africa.

So, I’m sitting here and typing these words…I think it is time to start a petition for big name rappers to use more often the titles of African literati to promote great work. I mean how cool would it be if Jay-Z’s next song featuring a hip white band ala  Hot Chip rocked the title ‘Petals of Blood’?

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Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Sometimes words speak louder than images and oxymorons run the world.

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Buraka Som Brussels

Earlier this month,I decided to visit Brussels. The city with the personality disorder. Where code-switching is the anthem and Tin Tin,the mascote. Besides, one of my favorite bands, Buraka Som Sistema was performing at Recyclart in Brussels. Therefore, I had no choice but to travel south.

In Brussels, me and my sidekick did a quick tourist tour to all the worth-while locations, but I can not deny that our search for perfect food took us to all kind of interesting comic book-like places.

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Remixed Proverbs

I love proverbs and sayings. A perfect example is this modern twist on traditional proverbs. Nikki Farquharson remixed 65 proverbs to ” capture” today’s western and digitalized mentality.

I mean let’s be honest. In today’s world, internet is god and the evangelism is currently based upon the proverb above :).

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Fast Food Frantics

This giant oreo is not necessarily my new favourite cuisine, but merely a fraction of the madness openly shared with us via thisiswhyyourfat.com. I firmly believe that the Oreo Chef made a dream come true. Even though it could be mistaken by some as a new symbol for 21st racial harmony and by others as inspiration to clutter their veins :).

I firmly believe This Is Why You’re Fat should be used in educational material not to prevent children and young adults from obesity, but to provoke artsy fartsy students and creative people to close their so called creative boxes and step outside their world.

I’ve yet to figure out if I should see this as an innovative way of gaining weight or to be simply disgusted. What do you think?

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Repost: the beauty of perception

I wrote this entry eons ago, but sadly enough it is still relevent in today’s world.

How ironic! New ad campaigns to market Africa’s’ intellegence has been gaining ground by winning an award. Say good bye to the beloved imagery of starving & dying Africans and welcome to the fancy photoshopped Maasai or Khoi-san (Bushmen) proclaiming his greatness.

However this particular ad campaign is a great example of what Chinua Achebe is speaking off in the quote below:

“People go to Africa and confirm what they already have in their heads and so they fail to see what is there in front of them. This is what people have come to expect. It’s not viewed as a serious continent. It’s a place of strange, bizarre and illogical things, where people don’t do what common sense demands.” Chinua Achebe

Secondly not to knock off the creative and original idea of portraying Africans in a different light, it is still feeding the idea/perception that Africans need donations to gain acces to civilisation.

In conclusion, my inner consumer is not convinced that due to my donation Mr. Masai will receive a key to the kingdom of civilisation.

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The City is Breathing 1998

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It’s Oct. 1998. I just turned 16 and was bored with puberty. It was 8 months prior to the infamous journey to Dubai. &  it’s precisely two months after I scooped up the last copy of Mosdef & Talib Kweli are Black Star…. I sat down on the floor, faced the wall and wrote poems for the invisible ones whilst playing Respiration and Thieves in the Night back to back. Remarkably, this album was the key to another mysterious world. Far away from my lily white neighborhood, rusty bike and Latin exams. It helped me explore The Invisible Man, Haruki Murakami, Ngugi and Nikki Giovanni’s Egotrip. Matter fact, sole reason why I read the Bluest Eye by Toni Morrisson was because I loved the chorus/quote below to death:

Not strong
Only aggressive
Not free
We only licensed
Not compassioniate, only polite
Now who the nicest?
Not good but well behaved
Chasin after death
so we can call ourselves brave?
Still livin like mental slaves
Hidin like thieves in the night from life
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice ( Thieves in the Night)

Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star stayed in my daily rotations for the years to come. I remember the digital debates and other tongue-in-the-cheek commentaries amongst the tribes of backpackers. So, I dedicate this to the past glories of the Jansport backpackers, roots.com lovers and napster huggers.

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Fastfood Thoughts

In between the hectics of day to day life, I read everything. All kind of books, (trashy or quality) magazines, leaflets etc etc. At the moment, I’m reading ‘Fooled by Randomness’ by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. I’m not ready to spill my thoughts or beans in a semi-review, but I would like to share a quote:

There’s a saying that Bad traders divorce their spouce sooner thaner abandon their positions. Loyality to  ideas is not a good thing traders, scientists- or anyone.(Nassim Nicholas Taleb)

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return…

Two decades, a lot of side projects, hectic work schedule & sickness later… I decided to try my luck at blogging again.

Exaggeration is a great art form.

Beloved reader; the kitchen hasn’t been empty, I have been cooking few words and photos here and there. Will upload during the upcoming few days.

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