Acholi mobile
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1998.9.15
Country:
Uganda , [Sudan]
Region:
Masindi District Kibanda County Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement [Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Acholi?
Date Made:
By 1997
Materials:
Cardboard Paper Plant , Polyester Textile Synthetic , Yarn
Process:
Chequer Woven , Covered , Stitched , Recycled
Dimensions:
Ht = 228, L = 286, W = 275, L diamond-shaped segments = 100 [RTS 16/2/2005].
Weight:
256.4 g
Other Owners:
Given to Tania Kaiser in 1997 by the Equatoria Civic Fund Women's Group; sold to PRM on 19th January 1998.
Field Collector:
Tania Kaiser
PRM Source:
Tania Kaiser
Acquired:
Purchased 19 January 1998
Collected Date:
1997
Description:
Mobile made from diamond-shaped pieces of cardboard, covered with recycled scraps of Equatoria Civic Fund school uniforms.
The body is hollow and shaped like a dodecahedron, with each of the 12 sides composed of 5 diamond-shaped segments arranged into a star, then the edges stitched together, with this stitching perforating the edges of the cardboard as well as the fabric, as see in one area where the cloth has come slightly away from the card.
This has been done using a dark blue thread or yarn that matches the colour of the blue fabric.
The cloth itself is a polyester made with a simple checkweave (over 1, under 1), in royal blue (Pantone 661C) or yellow (Pantone 7505).
Each face of the mobile is made from pieces of a single colour, with a circular fabric-covered disc at the centre in the contrasting colour.
These are evenly distributed, with 6 yellow, and 6 blue faces.
The mobile is complete, but has some damage in the form of sections where the cardboard can be felt to be bent underneath its covering, and in one small area the fabric is coming away at the seam, while there is some surface discolouration.
The stitching is irregular, and poorly executed in places.
It has a weight of 256.4 grams, is 228 mm high, 286 mm long and 275 mm wide, while each diamond-shaped segment is around 100 mm long.
Given to Tania Kaiser in 1997 by the Equatoria Civic Fund Women's Group; purchased by the Pitt Rivers Museum on 19th January 1998. It was made with textile scraps left over from school uniforms. Note that this example has not been provided with a suspension loop. For a smaller mobile without the central buttons, see 1998.9.16.
These sorts of handicrafts are made either individually by women, to use, or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, as was the case with this object. These tended to be sold within the community, and some women complained that they lacked the materials needed to carry out this kind of work.
For details of Kaiser's work in Uganda, see: T. Kaiser, 1999, Living in Limbo: Insecurity and the Settlement of Sudanese Refugees in Northern Uganda (Unpublished PhD); T. Kaiser, "Making Do and Making Beautiful: Recycling in an African Refugee Settlement", in: J. Coote, C. Morton and J. Nicholson (eds), Transformations, the Art of Recyclying, 44-47; T. Kaiser, 2000, UNHCR's Withdrawal from Kiryandongo: Anatomy of a Handover , New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper No. 32, 1, 3.
Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.
Given to Tania Kaiser in 1997 by the Equatoria Civic Fund Women's Group; purchased by the Pitt Rivers Museum on 19th January 1998. It was made with textile scraps left over from school uniforms. Note that this example has not been provided with a suspension loop. For a smaller mobile without the central buttons, see 1998.9.16.
These sorts of handicrafts are made either individually by women, to use, or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, as was the case with this object. These tended to be sold within the community, and some women complained that they lacked the materials needed to carry out this kind of work.
For details of Kaiser's work in Uganda, see: T. Kaiser, 1999, Living in Limbo: Insecurity and the Settlement of Sudanese Refugees in Northern Uganda (Unpublished PhD); T. Kaiser, "Making Do and Making Beautiful: Recycling in an African Refugee Settlement", in: J. Coote, C. Morton and J. Nicholson (eds), Transformations, the Art of Recyclying, 44-47; T. Kaiser, 2000, UNHCR's Withdrawal from Kiryandongo: Anatomy of a Handover , New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper No. 32, 1, 3.
Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Day book entry -
20/1[/98].
D[onation].
MdA.
[donor] TANIA KAISER.
1998.9.
AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINIDI DISTRICT, KIRYANDONGO REFUGEE SETTLEMENT.
Collection of objects collected by donor.
Related Documents File - RDF 1998.9: Acquisition Record, dated 19/1/1998, for 'collection of material from Uganda'. Memo dated 21/1/1998 from Jeremy Coote to Julia Cousins, dated 23/1/1998 regarding enclosed invoice for £150 from Tania Kaiser for 'collection of artefacts from Northern Uganda'. This object appears on an attached list as item 16: "Mobile/decoration made from cardboard and covered in material. Blue and yellow polyester - leftover scraps from the ECF school uniforms. Given by ECF Women's Group". It was purchased by the PRM for £3. There is also a typed document on file, titled "Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Masindi District, Uganda. Background to objects collected from a predominantly Sudanese Acholi community in 1997 by Tania Kaiser". The refugee settlement is described as being 14 kms from Kiryandongo town, near Bweyale and Nyakadot. The population is predominantly Acholi, but other groups represented there include Latuko, Madi, Bari and some Zande. There is a small market within the settlement itself, but many people go to the market at nearby Bweyale. Handcrafts are rarely sold in the settlement or in Bweyale in any systematic way. Most commonly made objects are embroidered tablecloths or bed sheets and crocheted food covers or chair backs; these tend to be produced individually by woman to use or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, who sell them to members of the community; none so far have managed to establish an external market. Individual women complain that they are unable to undertake these sorts of activities as they do not have access to the necessary materials [RTS 15/12/2003].
PRM label - AFRICA UGANDA, MASINDI DISTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI? Mobile. Coll. Tania Kaiser, 1997. 1998.9.15 [plastic tag with metal eyelets; loose in box with object]; PITT RIVERS MUSEUM. AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINDI DISTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI? Mobile. Coll. Tania Kaiser, 1997. 1998.9.15 [textile label, sewn to object; RTS 16/2/2005].
Related Documents File - RDF 1998.9: Acquisition Record, dated 19/1/1998, for 'collection of material from Uganda'. Memo dated 21/1/1998 from Jeremy Coote to Julia Cousins, dated 23/1/1998 regarding enclosed invoice for £150 from Tania Kaiser for 'collection of artefacts from Northern Uganda'. This object appears on an attached list as item 16: "Mobile/decoration made from cardboard and covered in material. Blue and yellow polyester - leftover scraps from the ECF school uniforms. Given by ECF Women's Group". It was purchased by the PRM for £3. There is also a typed document on file, titled "Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Masindi District, Uganda. Background to objects collected from a predominantly Sudanese Acholi community in 1997 by Tania Kaiser". The refugee settlement is described as being 14 kms from Kiryandongo town, near Bweyale and Nyakadot. The population is predominantly Acholi, but other groups represented there include Latuko, Madi, Bari and some Zande. There is a small market within the settlement itself, but many people go to the market at nearby Bweyale. Handcrafts are rarely sold in the settlement or in Bweyale in any systematic way. Most commonly made objects are embroidered tablecloths or bed sheets and crocheted food covers or chair backs; these tend to be produced individually by woman to use or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, who sell them to members of the community; none so far have managed to establish an external market. Individual women complain that they are unable to undertake these sorts of activities as they do not have access to the necessary materials [RTS 15/12/2003].
PRM label - AFRICA UGANDA, MASINDI DISTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI? Mobile. Coll. Tania Kaiser, 1997. 1998.9.15 [plastic tag with metal eyelets; loose in box with object]; PITT RIVERS MUSEUM. AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINDI DISTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI? Mobile. Coll. Tania Kaiser, 1997. 1998.9.15 [textile label, sewn to object; RTS 16/2/2005].
