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Thandiwe Muriu Kenya, b. 1990
59 x 39 3/8 in
“ A man without culture is like a zebra without stripes.”
African Proverb
The heart of Africa’s adornment is shaped under the hands of
women. Looking back into centuries of color palettes, beadwork
and textile development, female artists often designed the visual
cues of a culture to symbolise a new stage in life. Their tasteful
craftsmanship developed trends as they defined new looks based
on personal taste.
On the East African coast, women were the purveyors of style in
the development of the khanga cloth when they imagined the
first fabrics using dye made from tree bark.
Often where there is beauty, the hands of a woman have been
involved.