Rhetoric of Ekphrasis - International Society for Typographic Designers (ISTD)
For the Rhetoric of Ekphrasis students were required to typographically explore the influence that a major work of visual artĀ
andĀ a text that responds to it has upon one another. I have chosen The Swing (after Fragonard) 2001, by Yinka Shonibare,Ā
and Colonialism and Cultural Hybridity: An interview with Yinka Shonibare MBE by Rebecca Jagoe as a text that makes direct reference to the artwork and style of the artist.Ā
The concept of this publication is that the chosen text sheds light uponĀ the artwork as a conversation starter, free from anger which simply illustrates the blurred lines of cultural identity in our Postcolonial world. In its turn, The Swing (after Fragonard) also enhances the text by visually expressing the vibrance, intricacy andĀ sensitivity involved in the integration of different cultures, such as happened in Africa as a result of Colonialism.
The blurring of different identities into one unified African whole is illustrated by the use of scans of South African Shweshwe material, since this material is originally from India, but introduced to Xhosa people by German settlers and has been accepted into African culture as traditional. The typographic interpretation in the project includes blurring, merging of visual elements representative of different cultures that may have influenced the African culture, and incorporating elements of patterns from within Shweshwe material as being visuallyĀ descriptive of cultural hybridity. This project was assessed by the ISTD and I was awarded membership for it.
The Swing (After Fragonard), Yinka Shonibare, 2001
