This year, Storytelling in the Language of Flowers is back!
"Storytelling in the language of flowers is a multi-genre project which brings together an interdisciplinary group of people to develop new forms of storytelling in response to the multiple political and ecological crises of our time. Focusing on plants and their people in Cape Town, it brings forth stories about place, history and belonging; stories which root us in the past and prepare the soil from which more just futures can grow." Read more on Nowseum here.
A New Poster Design
The latest poster in the series speaks about the history of flower research and plant collection in Cape Town and was required to feature 3 herbarium sheets from Kew Gardens.
To be able to accommodate all the information as well as feature the herbarium sheets, I needed to come up with a tight layout plan that would be easily legible, would showcase the detail in the herbarium sheets and have an interesting composition when viewed from a distance.
Deep etching the elements of the herbarium sheets and converting them to greyscale I found created the best use of space and suited the style of the posters. To maximise space I shaped the text to fit between the herbarium sheet etchings instead of having standard, rectangular paragraphs.
The Storytelling in the Language of Flowers took part in the ICA Live art Festival this year and the installation included a flower show, a storytelling floristry workshop, a sound installation and the distribution of the Cape Town Floriography Papers in Adderley Street.
More on Cape Town Floriography to come! Subscribe to hear it first.
Heritage Day
Heritage Day in Cape Town, South Africa (24 September) is always buzzing with cultural events. Most of the museums and galleries offer free entry on this day or even for a full week in anticipation of Heritage day.
This year the District Six Museum hosted a memory walk from Trafalgar Park to the Homecoming centre inspired by the 'Kewpie: A Daughter of District Six' exhibition currently on display which takes an a look at the life of a celebrated District six trans women and pays homage to the queer history of District Six. The walk was filled with bright colours and wonderful costumes where many dressed in drag.
The Iziko Museums of South Africa hosted a wide range of events like guided tours, drumming sessions, cartoon workshops, marine biology and micro fossil displays, an artistic recreation of Nelson Mandela's jail cell, the In_herit Festival (24-30 September), music and dance performances, jewellery making, mock fossil digs and fossil casting.
If you've been to any interesting Heritage day events this year share it in the comments below!
Lionel Davis' 'Gathering Strands' is an international retrospective exhibition curated by The District Six museum in Cape Town and was first exhibited at the Iziko South African National Gallery and will be travelling to Graham’s Town and then Cuba.
About Lionel Davis
Davis is best known for his complex linocut prints that narrate experiences of his youth in District Six and his incarceration on Robben Island.
"A former political prisoner and long-time cultural activist, Lionel Davis’ name features prominently in the history of the Community Arts Project, Vakalisa Art Associates, Thupelo Workshop and Greatmore Artists Studios. Drawing, painting, and printing, and often combining these media, Davis works in visual modes that range from the realist to the abstract. His themes include everyday scenes as well as reflections on black and African identity."
About the Design
I thoroughly enjoyed designing this exhibition worksheet for ‘Gathering Strands’ a retrospective exhibition of the work of amazing artist, anti-apartheid activist, political prisoner and educator - Lionel Davis. This worksheet is printed double sided on a single sheet of A2 paper. A straight line is cut down the middle to create a foldable 16 page booklet that can also stand on its own.
If you've been to see the exhibition, leave a comment to tell us how it was!
Cape Town Floriography
"Cape Town Floriography is a public history and art project that takes place at various flower markets in Cape Town on Heritage Day, 24 September 2016." - Nowseum Blog
About the project
Cape Town Floriography, a Nowseum project by Melanie Boehi, explores the fascinating history and influence of the flower sellers of Cape Town. The first installation was developed as a series of posters exhibited as flower wrapping papers.
"For long flower sellers have used newspaper sheets to wrap up flowers. Old newspaper was thereby given a second life. Cape Town Floriography is inspired by this recycling of newspaper, however it changes the direction of the cycle by producing a new paper that can only be read once the flowers are unpacked." - Nowseum blog
About the Design
When Melanie approached me with the task of designing a poster to use as flower wrapping, I loved
the idea. This was the perfect medium to exhibit this story, a history that most Cape Townians don't know about - even though most of them see these flower sellers daily. There was no set brief in terms of aesthetic, other than it being a black and white print, which allowed me to put some ideas forward. While experimenting, I discovered that the borders and edges of the paper would be the most visible part when wrapped. I passed the idea of illustrating a detailed flower border to Melanie who loved the idea so much that she used the border for the entire poster series.
The illustrated flowers are a mix of real, hybrid and fantasy flowers.
The posters were exhibited on Adderley Street, Trafalgar Square and The Castle of Good Hope.
And they even made the Weekend Argus!
To learn more about Cape Town Floriography, visit the Nowseum blog and read all about this wonderful project and the rich history of flower sellers in Cape Town!
I'd love to know what you think about this project so please leave a comment in the comments section below!
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