The African bricks
A series of artworks inspired by the Mandela House in Soweto and other similar matchbox houses in the African townships, and created for an African restaurant in Athens, Greece.
I love Africa! For me, it's a constant source of inspiration and a solid point of reference for my life. I have traveled to the continent many times and have studied Africa's culture for a long time. This is a series of artworks inspired by everyday African life and also paying tribute to Shaka Zulu and the long traditions of the Zulus, Ndebele, Xhosa, and all the tribes of the land. They are created for an African restaurant in Athens.
The basic element I used is the brick. Borrowed directly from the typical matchbox houses in the African townships, the brick for me is a symbol of people's creativity. A symbol of courage to build a safe place for the family. My bricks are sometimes stable and at other times unstable. And they are filled with other forms of African creativity. Fabrics, art, leather, animal skins...
I have printed these digital files on wood in 8 colors. Collaborating with the great team at Quality Printing Solutions, we have printed on a Swiss Q Impala 2 printer in 7 colors, plus white. The white ink is used in various shades under some of the bricks, creating the illusion that the bricks are pieces of paper or metal stuck to the wood.
We have added 3 layers of UV to the final artwork, adding dimension.
You can now purchase limited edition signed and numbered art prints from this series here:
The water girl.
47.3" x 71.0", Digital print (7 colors + white with UV layer) on wood.
Staring at the sun.
86.8" x 45.3" Digital print (7 colors + white with UV layer) on wood.
Working mother and child
47.3" x 71.0", Digital print (7 colors + white with UV layer) on wood.
The Pap lady
41.0" x 55.3", Digital print (7 colors + white with UV layer) on wood.
A Zulu girl
41.0" x 55.3", Digital print (7 colors + white with UV layer) on wood.
A Zulu warrior
27.6" x 27.6" Digital print (7 colors + white with UV layer) on wood.
Shaka Zulu
27.6" x 27.6" Digital print (7 colors + white with UV layer) on wood.
The final artworks:
Standout mosaic details worth a closer look:
The inspiration:
Mandela's House in Soweto and other Matchbox houses in South Africa were my source of inspiration for this series.
The house is now a museum. Some bricks have been replaced with metallic plates bearing information and powerful words such as Hope, Equality, Liberation, etc.
You can also see some photos from the printing session.
Created with custom-developed scripts, hacks, and techniques in Studio Artist, Adobe Creative Suite, and Apple QuickTime Pro, listened to amazing African music.
Credits:
Artworks: Charis Tsevis
Printed by Quality Printing Solutions S.A. Many thanks to Stefanos Makriyannis and his great team.
Restaurant photos: Marios Theologis.
Mandela's Soweto house photos by A. Bailey and Jack Tomczuk.
A variety of photos have been used as references from numerous photographers, most of whom are unknown to me. I would gladly mention anyone who helped in this project.
Thanks for stopping by.
Sanibonani!
