11 October 2010

homage to omo



My sister bought the book 'Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa' by Hans Silvester, which is a stunning photographic portrayal of the Surma and Mursi tribes who live in the lower valley of the Omo, at the borders of Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan. The youths in particular, extravagantly adorn themselves with body paint, vegetation, horns and other found matter, and their sense of colour and form is truly exquisite. While visiting her one day a couple of months ago, I made these funny little drawings after flicking through the book - nothing at all like the real thing, but kinda fun!

10 comments:

annamaria potamiti said...

Super!!Love them-xx

Unknown said...

I like them, funny and I think the upper right has my green hedgehog on her head.

Penny said...

Oh wow! You have such an excellent use of colour = is that an odd compliment? My dad used to paint a lot, and when I was little I would never believe him when he said that shadows contained purple, or sunlight contained all the colours...

Anyway, I love your illustrations!

La Cenefa said...

bellisimo tu blog!!

saludos, volveremos pronto
www.vientoenprosa.blogspot.com

helicopter6 said...

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments. Barbara, I think you might be right (so it's a hedgehog?!) Penny, that's not an odd compliment at all. Not at all! And La Cenefa, so very pleased you visited.

Laura said...

a lovely study. made me smile:)

Susan said...

That sounds like a very interesting book! ...and it reminds me of a book that's been on my list to get, called: "What People Wore When: A Complete Illustrated History of Costume from Ancient Times to the Nineteenth Century for Every Level of Society". I started reading Jane Austen books, which got me wondering about their clothes, which led me to this book. In the back of my mind I have the idea to draw the outfits people wear. Thanks for the inspiration, and I really like your blog! :-)

helicopter6 said...

Thank you Susan. The book you mention sounds wonderful, it would make an excellent reference (you should buy it!!). I've often thought of exploring this area more myself.

Sandra Eterovic said...

I love your little drawings too, that book (and the one Susan mentions) sounds like a lot of fun.
I also love Tibor and Maira Kalman's (Un)Fashion. It's great!

helicopter6 said...

Thank you Sandra. Both these books look really great. I think there may be a(nother) little book buying spree. Doh!