An elegant flat ring of six smooth pieces of stained ebony surrounds a wooden platter in the middle of the floor that invites guests to huddle African-style for a meal or games.
The creation by Kossi Assou of Togo is part of a travelling display of African design currently housed in London that reveals the extent to which the continent’s traditional craftsmanship and lifestyle interact with modern form and utility.
Design Made in Africa, the first major exhibition of contemporary African design in Britain, was organised by French-based curators Celine Savoye and Michel Buisson to introduce an international audience to the continent’s distinctive work.
Containing furniture, jewellery, tableware and other products, the exhibit at the Brunei Gallery at the University of London is compelling international businesses to pay attention to work from “the forbidden continent”.
African designers face a dual challenge in finding a limited market for their work both abroad and at home, Ethiopian architect and designer Fasil Giorghis said.
European and American consumers have little exposure to African creations beyond tourist souvenirs, but the designers face equal difficulty marketing their products in their own continent.
“Design is not something that comes into the public eye in Africa,” Giorghis said.
To solve the problem, Savoye and Buisson created two versions of the travelling exhibit: one for the North (Europe and America) and one for the African continent. After London, the northern exhibit will travel to Los Angeles, Montreal and New York. The African exhibit will travel through Luanda, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Tunis and Algiers.
They chose the best work and artists from a workshop in Dakar, Senegal, and from several other designers who were born or work in Africa, to create the exhibit.
The result is a colourful display from 31 designers in 14 countries that combines materials, form and usage in unexpected ways.
Pottery is handcrafted on a wheel, but coated with modern glaze. A hand chair is designed from a steel frame with handwoven fabric. A smooth and flowing lamp stand is painted with the brilliantly clashing colours common to the African continent.
Giorghis said his creation, a bright, geometric mobile kiosk, uses modern design to respond to a current African urban problem. Street merchants can fold and unfold the kiosk to move their goods from home to various markets.
The continent has a craftsmanship tradition that appeals to the European and American sensibility, Giorghis said. The objects are weaved and crafted by hand for contemporary use.
At the same time, “you see an aesthetic that is very colourful, appealing, sometimes even provocative”, he added.
Several shops and galleries have already discovered designers or pieces in the exhibit that they want to sell in their stores, Savoye said, and she believes African designers can compete with European and Asian industry.
“It’s a growing market,” Giorghis added, “and I think this exhibit plays a very important role.” — AFP
The exhibit is on display until November 25