Colours take on a natural palette and have been extracted from the mines of Africa creating earthy swatches. Coltan, a vital mineral used in almost all smartphones and laptops, is central to this collection, as it shines light on natural resources and how they fuel armed conflict across the continent.
Graphics are primitive and portray a sense of naivety using simplistic shapes shaded with bright contrast coloured shading - transferring vividly to embroidery.They are framed with an overlooked staple stitch reminiscent of the works of early Ivorian artists.
Symbolic references to the American Tour of Vietnam can also be seen in the late 60's era style....
.... and technique of African map embroidery.
The seasonal camouflage is Tigerstripe.
Patterns have been expressed in Dense, Sparse and Super Sparse variants.
They have been hand painted on to reclaimed military uniforms in East London as part of maharishi's upcycling program.
Silhouettes include inspirations from traditional African clothing. A prominent stylistic reference to the Djellaba - a hooded long loosed fitting robe from North West Africa. Another is the Djellabiya, a hoodless wide collared and sleeved robe from the Horn of Africa.
Tour D'Afrique references the dualistic existence of maharishi and its core themes, highlighting contrasts in East vs West, nature and handcraft vs technology and, and military vs pacifist. Mother nature is at the core of the maharishi ethos and this collection highlights the importance of her resources and our dependence on them.
