Acholi collage
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1998.9.19
Country:
Uganda , [Sudan]
Region:
Masindi District Kibanda County Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement [Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Acholi?
Date Made:
By 1997
Materials:
Plant Fibre , Banana Leaf Plant , Ink
Process:
Glued , Stitched , Collage , Inlaid , Framed
Dimensions:
L = 505, W = 320, th = 13 mm [RTS 17/11/2004].
Weight:
138.9 g
Other Owners:
Obtained by Tania Kaiser in 1997; sold to PRM on 19th January 1998
Field Collector:
Tania Kaiser
PRM Source:
Tania Kaiser
Acquired:
Purchased 19 January 1998
Collected Date:
1997
Description:
Rectangular picture made from broad strips of banana fibre with an often corrugated surface, arranged in two layers.
The strips in the back layer are laid vertically and stitched together along their sides using narrow flat lengths of light coloured fibre.
There are additional rows of stitching running parallel to the outside edges.
The strips in the front layer are laid horizontally over this, and glued on top.
The two parts are further secured and strengthened by an outer frame, made up of a series of additional strips, folded over each side with overlapping corners, creating 2 to 3 layers of edging.
The top edging strips are also stitched in place at each corner and at a few places along their length.
The front of the picture depicts a confrontation between 2 groups of people, against a background landscape of mountains and trees. Two trees appear as trunks, without foliage. The third tree, near the edge of the frame, has a leafy top. A pale cream coloured road runs at an angle into the distance, with a large parked bus in the foreground. Just in front of this is a group of figures. 3 of these are holding rifles or guns, with long barrels and stocks, and one is shown wearing what looks like a helmet in profile. In front of them, 1 figure is seated on the ground, with left arm raised; 1 figure has fallen onto its back, with one arm raised in defence, and a third figure - the hairstyle suggests this is a woman - has both arms raised and is falling backwards, as her attacker holds her by the forearm.
These images were made by drawing the design onto the fibre background with blue biro, and then cutting out the areas within. Additional pieces of fibre were then marked out in blue or red biro and cut out to the same shape, before being glued either into these insets, or over the top of the backing. These biro markings may still be seen in places. The background is a mix of pale cream (the road and wheel hubs, Pantone 7506C), or yellow (Pantone 7509C), while the other details have been died either black (most of the figures, Pantone black 4C) or dark brown (the trees and elements of the bus and mountains, Pantone 476C). The image has been executed with a European sense of perspective. The picture is complete and intact, with a weight of 138.9 grams. It is 505 mm long, 320 mm wide and 13 mm thick.
Obtained by Tania Kaiser in 1997 and purchased by the Pitt Rivers Museum on 19th January 1998. For another picture created in the same style and using similar construction techniques, less crudely applied, see 1998.9.18. There are some technical differences in execution; for example the latter uses glue, rather than stitching, to secure the outer frame.
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.
The front of the picture depicts a confrontation between 2 groups of people, against a background landscape of mountains and trees. Two trees appear as trunks, without foliage. The third tree, near the edge of the frame, has a leafy top. A pale cream coloured road runs at an angle into the distance, with a large parked bus in the foreground. Just in front of this is a group of figures. 3 of these are holding rifles or guns, with long barrels and stocks, and one is shown wearing what looks like a helmet in profile. In front of them, 1 figure is seated on the ground, with left arm raised; 1 figure has fallen onto its back, with one arm raised in defence, and a third figure - the hairstyle suggests this is a woman - has both arms raised and is falling backwards, as her attacker holds her by the forearm.
These images were made by drawing the design onto the fibre background with blue biro, and then cutting out the areas within. Additional pieces of fibre were then marked out in blue or red biro and cut out to the same shape, before being glued either into these insets, or over the top of the backing. These biro markings may still be seen in places. The background is a mix of pale cream (the road and wheel hubs, Pantone 7506C), or yellow (Pantone 7509C), while the other details have been died either black (most of the figures, Pantone black 4C) or dark brown (the trees and elements of the bus and mountains, Pantone 476C). The image has been executed with a European sense of perspective. The picture is complete and intact, with a weight of 138.9 grams. It is 505 mm long, 320 mm wide and 13 mm thick.
Obtained by Tania Kaiser in 1997 and purchased by the Pitt Rivers Museum on 19th January 1998. For another picture created in the same style and using similar construction techniques, less crudely applied, see 1998.9.18. There are some technical differences in execution; for example the latter uses glue, rather than stitching, to secure the outer frame.
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.
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 part of item 19: "Banana fibre pictures (collage)". This was purchased by PRM for £7. 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 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; access to the necessary materials can be a problem [RTS 15/12/2003].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINDI DISTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI? Banana fibre picture depicting an ambush. Coll. Tania Kaiser, 1997. 1998.9.19 [plastic tag with metal eyelet; loose in bag with object, RTS 17/11/2004].
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 part of item 19: "Banana fibre pictures (collage)". This was purchased by PRM for £7. 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 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; access to the necessary materials can be a problem [RTS 15/12/2003].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINDI DISTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI? Banana fibre picture depicting an ambush. Coll. Tania Kaiser, 1997. 1998.9.19 [plastic tag with metal eyelet; loose in bag with object, RTS 17/11/2004].
