Sunday, October 20, 2019

Ultimate glamour at the Aqua Shard restaurant; the LIsbon earthquake and how to sell a Camel.




Well, it has to be one of the most glamorous dinner parties I have ever been to. A private dining room at the Aqua Shard restaurant, on the  31st floor of this iconic building- the most spectacular of views of course, and the most charming company- here I am sitting next to Patricia Simmons, and Tim(?)
Champagne and Canapes upon arrival, exquisite wine flowing dinner and excellent company. And why do I find myself in such elevated company and surroundings?
 Father Columba was in London with the Board of HMML- (Hill Museum and Manuscript Library) and I , as I am now officially an employee (part time of course) of this venerable Minnesota Institution, I was invited and had a lovely time!


The Board of the HMML were all very successful  people- captains of industry and  the cream of Minneapolis and Minnesota society. The sort of people I would have expected, in the past at least,  to be Republican. But no... I was assured by my charming and handsome table companion, a representative  of those well-groomed semi-retired  people who  'sits on boards', that there was probably not a single Republican in the whole group. He was unable to utter the name 'Trump' without visible embarrassment. 
They were all very interested in the work in Timbuktu and had been briefed  of our various adventures by  Father Columba. Indeed there  does seems  to be something dramatic happening every time we travel there together...the next time will be in December.

Most  of the Board members had been to Washington to see Father Columba giving the prestigious  Jefferson Lecture a couple of weeks ago. He followed the footsteps of some great luminaries, Tony Morrison for one.   If  you scroll 41 minutes in on this link you will get to the lecture itself: https://www.facebook.com/nehgov/videos/515056039284692/

And speaking of manuscripts (which was of course the main subject matter of Fr. Columba's lecture) , the picture below shows a page from an interesting manuscript from the Imam Essayouti Library in Timbuktu. The writer is called Ahmad bn Bindad al Masini, and he describes - partly in verse- a great earthquake on 29 Muharram 1116H., which is 1755 Gregorian. We had a similar manuscript in Djenne:
 It is undoubtedly referring to the Great Lisbon earthquake, which was felt as far as Timbuktu and Djenne!
 

And last week it was the last time I had to check through the EXCEL documents that give  a short description of each manuscript that is digitized. I have been doing this task for ten years now- for the four Djenne projects and for the  project in Timbuktu. The EAP (Endangered Archives Programme of the British Library ) has now stopped their involvement with the Timbuktu project and I am preparing the final report for them although the project is continuing  of course, with HMML). The reading of these descriptions has been one of the most entertaining of the tasks in my work, and it never fails to make me chuckle, to tantalize me to know more and to realize how close we all are in our preoccupations and desires, although our circumstances may differ greatly. Here is a little taster  from the EXCEL sheet:

Document concerning how  to find riches, to be loved and to bewitch women.

Correspondence in which the writer  testifies to the sale or loan of a camel.

Esoteric manuscript for protection against hitting, and how to make a woman a virgin.

Document that attests the setting free of a slave 

A correspondence written by Ahmad bn Abubacar bn Muhammad al-Sayd to Muhammad bn Abuba informing him of the arrival of the whites and that the religion does not allow colonist cohabitation.
 
This document attests that Hameye Shaban bn Nafakoy has bought his sister's two children, probably to free them from slavery.

A fatwa on the following case: man get married but after three days he becomes aware  that his wife is pregnant. After the divorce she gave birth. Decree on what will the future of the child and the dowry.

Correspondence from Sān Shirfi to Prince Ḥamīd on a problem of slavery.

A fatwa on the case of a woman who falls pregnant in the absence of her husband.

Regards medicine, witchcraft  and a solution for curing stomach aches.

Escoteric science that deals with giving longevity to a horse.

This manuscript is based on how to avoid the excess of desire of  man towards  woman; also the difference between two desires; that for woman and that for prayer.

A manuscript of Theology concerning faithfulness; believing in God, the attributes of God, the existence of God and how to catch a thief.

Dream interpretation divided into sub-chapters, citing an example: If someone sees a black woman in a dream  he will not get what he wants, but he must offer a white colanut as sacrifice.

And on it goes... I find it fascinating to read these short explanations on the content of the manuscripts!

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Aftermath

 The show is over and everything taken down,  packed away, or hung on the last remaining spaces on my own walls. The keys are handed back for my temporary studio space where a flurry of artistic activity kept me happily busy for the last couple of months, creating this exhibition.
 I started it all in the heat of  August, and it has ended as the autumn winds and rain are sweeping in, tearing the leaves from the trees. I feel a little bereft, as if I am sitting alone on Brighton pier when the last ice cream sellers have packed up after the summer, and the merry-go-round has ground to a halt. 
 It rained on the night of the Private view...

Nevertheless, quite a few people braved the elements: Fergus Food-Jeal to the left  with Nicola Jeal centre above.

          David Asboe with Yonatani..       

   David again... (all these pictures courtesy of the European commissions photographer Jamie Smith )                                                       
                    Mark Saade, the Malian Honorary Consul to the United Kindom, right above

 I was honoured to have Pia Lundgren, the Cultureal Attache at the Swedish Embassy to introduce me and the work. She was very gracious and complimentary- it can't have been easy, since we had never met before and I am hardly a known artist... But she talked about my work with the manuscripts, and my hotel in Africa etc  as well...


And then I had to say something, which is always a real trial for me. But it seemed to work out!


So what now?
Well, nothing much will change. It is not the first time I have had an art show, although the last one was many years ago. And all the time in Djenne I was of course involved in making and creating textiles etc. The difference now is only that I have decided to take on a permanent studio space after Christmas when I get back from my up coming  Mali trip . And then, lets see... There are plenty of selling art shows (this one was not) to attend to see if I can't  make some sales too!


Thursday, October 3, 2019

Lost and Found

 In haste: some pictures from my Vernissage on Tuesday: more later...