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COLOUR, LIGHT & LOCATION
Dylan Bedford | RGSHW | A Level Investigation
THE Ndebele people
From looking at the Naïve art of Cape Town, I learnt how colour does a lot for making a place and the Ndebele people are great examples of this as their villages' main distinguishable attribute is their pattern and colour.
The Ndebele people are a tribe in Southern Africa. Over history they have since split into many groups with varying languages and cultures. I am mainly interested in the Southern Ndebele people as they are native to South Africa and the house painting tradition is more attributed to them.
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I have just looked at the street art of Cape Town and similarly, among the Ndebele people there is a great sense of cultural identity on a community scale and on a national scale. Additionally, the patterns and shapes they use are very similar to Frank Stella's work which I looked at previously in my book.
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With 11 national languages, one of South Africa’s most defining characteristics is the cultural diversity. As a side note, I find it very interesting how people can grow up with such different experiences while being in the same country. For example, children would be growing up in tribes in the North while my mum grew up with an upbringing more similar to English culture.
Culture and art
CULTURE
Status and hierarchy are a big part of the tribe’s dynamic. They are run by a tribal head and a family council similar to a monarchical system. Additionally, in the tribe a large part of one’s identity, particularly the women’s, comes from whether you are married or not and whether you have a son who has passed his initiation ceremony.
These are such a large part who they are that they outwardly express it with rings and blankets. Traditionally, after a man has built his wife a home, he would gift her rings and she would wear them as a symbol of her loyalty, until his death. On the reverse, during ceremonies the husband would be expected to wear ornaments which the wife has made for him. Ornaments and rings can also indicate social rank.
I find it amazing how their culture is such a big part of their everyday life.
ART
After the man has made the home for his wife, it is then the women’s duty to decorate it and they decorate it with all these bright colours and geometric shapes by hand as it’s her chance to express herself and set herself apart from her peer group.
The patterns and colours were used for communication between sub-groups especially during their oppression by the Boers. They could communicate personal prayers, values, emotions, marriage and even rank. Red and dark red, yellow to gold, a sky blue, green, and sometimes pink are the colours they use. As I resolve this research I will also definitely be bearing my work on Frank Stella in mind as his geometric patterns strongly resemble the Ndebele art.
Another example of Ndebele art is the Nguba blanket, which is created over many years, after a key event like marriage the bride would add to the blanket a section which symbolises her marriage, another part would be added after her son’s initiation etc. It’s an artistic representation of her identity.
Above - Ndebele houses are usually washed with white before the geometric patterns are painted on.
Right - The Nguba blanket is sewn by the Ndebele women, certain layers represent key events in their life.
Cardboard models
Making Models
For the Ndebele people, their physical surrounding is a big part of their culture. Therefore as a response, I wanted to try create my own huts in Ndebele fashion with my own additions.
CARDBOARD MAQUETTES
I started by using cardboard as it is very easy to make rough models with. As you can see above, I tried two different designs for the walls; the first one I made has a more traditional design with square windows, however, for the second one I incorporated colour, as colour is inseparable from Ndebele culture, however I styled it so that it links to my previous work using coloured shards, to create a sense of energy.
Below, you can see my final model for the traditional design, from my research I picked up on some key features that their huts use including the overlapping roof, the cone on top of the roof (which is part of the ventilation system) and the veranda.
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Above you can see that I added a light source in the hut so that the colours had an even bigger effect. In my opinion this worked really well as, much like the Ndebele huts, the attention is drawn to the exterior decorations and colours. I like this effect and will definitely consider using something like acetate or glass with my clay models.
Clay models
CLAY MODELS
Having experimented with different shapes and styles in cardboard, I decided to make some clay structures so that I can use different textures and so that I can paint them more easily.
I rolled the clay into a sheet and rolled it into a cylinder to form the main body of the hut and once it had dried out a bit I cut windows. For this one, I based it off of my more traditional- styled maquette. I used a cardboard cone to make the roof and scored it with lines to represent the straw the Ndebele people would typically use.
With this design I incorporated some of the shard-like shapes from my light installation into the windows.
These are the results of the hut post firing, I now want to paint them and will decide on which pattern
Using paint
Painting
As I have already talked about on this page, art, and house painting is a huge part of the Ndebele tribe's identity, especially for the women as it is their main opportunity to express their individual creativity. I have looked at a few artists who make use of patterns and colour, namely Frank Stella and I will involve aspects of their work.
This was an experimental piece which I painted on a scrap bit of bisque-fired clay. This was meant to more closely represent the actual Ndebele patterns, as I feel I needed to try replicate their style at least once.
Here you can see that I've experimented with using different clay slips in a more stylized pattern based off of Stella's angular lines and triangles which share a lot of similarities with the Ndebele's work.
PAINTING THE HUT
Using a pattern inspired by Stellas triangular shapes and a white wash inspired by the Ndebele huts, I decorated the fired hut. I also added acetate windows and shone light from the middle to create a glowing hut and to really emphasise the vibrant colours.
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