Mtindo Ushairi

MTINDO USHAIRI (Swahili for Movimento Poetic) is an art exhibition that combines the MTINDO project of the African fashion icon and activist Waridi Schrobsdorff created together with the late and award-winning Italian photographer Daniele Tamagni, together with the works of nature USHAIRI by Manuela Toselli, also an Italian conceptual artist who works with silk.

MTINDO is the Swahili word which means style, and it can also mean the way you move or the way you present yourself, USHAIRI is the Swahili word which means poetry and poetry. The vibrations of the many bright colors of the exhibition push the viewer to go beyond their own limited and biased vision to embrace the MTINDO USHAIRI, a poetic movement born of discomfort, which blossoms in a splendid colorful bouquet of sensitive beauty, told through the works of these artists / storytellers. In fact, starting from different assumptions, the constraints dictated both by the personality, by physical problems or by the historical context, have pushed both the artists Daniele Tamagni and Manuela Toselli beyond the limits of their contingent reality, transforming their weaknesses into their individual poetic movement. artistic, colorful, powerful, and active.

The original MTINDO project is part of the initiatives undertaken by Waridi Schrobsdorff to move the conversation to the African continent, creating a new portrait, especially in the eyes of Westerners. The most natural choice was to use the photographer Daniele Tamagni, already known for having invented a new style of travel photography focused on the different fashion styles of some indigenous groups, focusing on the way they project themselves towards others and on society. A photographic genre that promotes dialogue, respect, dignity, identity and creativity through the "art of dressing" in social circumstances made up of poverty and daily hardship. This is the precious legacy that Daniele Tamagni left to the world. The result of the significant collaboration between Waridi and Daniele has resulted in both a book, published by Skira in 2016, with Daniele's splendid photographs that capture the new generation of "style movers" in Africa today, selected by Waridi; and in a photographic exhibition, with a selection of limited edition Fine Art prints, of the shots included in the book. For the MTINDO project, Waridi Schrobsdorff has chosen ten personalities from her hometown, Kenya, as representatives of the young creative generation, eager to implement change and make a difference to redirect the orientation of the African future.

Focusing on musicians, artists and directors, this project aims to introduce the rest of the world to the strength and diversity of the avant-garde creatives of the African continent. Hundreds of young talents in all artistic fields are contributing to the future of Africa, which is "now", actively fighting both in local, national and international cultural scenes. Also for this reason we invited the fashion designer Sydney Emeka Nwakanma to contribute to the exhibition, exhibiting a couple of her famous dresses. Emeka also aims to bridge the gap between Africa and Europe, bringing both of his origins together, creating a sustainable stream of income for the African communities involved in his projects, and at the same time diversifying the European market with products Made in Africa. . This effort would not only strengthen the African continent through occupation, but would also change its narrative from a place of poverty, struggle, and addiction, to a place of creativity, talent, poetics and beauty. To put it in Waridi's words: "Rebranding Africa has always been my goal. The truth is that through fashion and art they can actually open people's minds to change them positively".

At the same time, the Italian artist Manuela Toselli tells stories using fabric, continuing an ancient tradition in a contemporary way: there have been stories woven into the fabric since the dawn of its existence. Whether it's literally or figuratively, textile design doesn't exist without a narrative. The use of fabrics connects the myriad cultures of the world and defines the way they dress, adorn their surroundings and lead their lives. Silk is Manuella Toselli's favorite medium to tell her stories, being a living material, thanks to her origin. Furthermore, the sacrifice of the silkworm - fundamental for the production of silk - is, in the mind of the artist, the perfect metaphor for the sacrifice that must be made during any procedure that pushes the soul (or psyche) towards elevation. and expansion. With a balanced mélange of strength and tenderness, skilfully playing with colors and entering a sort of trance caused by the repetition of the movements in the weaving of the threads, Manuela Toselli tells her stories, usually inspired by her inner reality, poetically elevating them up to to become a mirror for universal feelings. The colorful works presented in this exhibition are the product of her reflections over the last two years, where the pandemic has played a decidedly important role in everyone's life. The LIGHT series, where contrasting colors interact with each other through the intertwining of the silk thread on the silk shantung background, was born during the first lockdown, particularly hard and severe in Italy. In that period of great restriction looking out of the window a small portion of the sky was the only liberating experience for Manuela, which is why it is the sky itself that is the real protagonist of this work, with its variety of colors and its empirical and psychological implications. On the other hand, the other series by Manuela Toselli included in the exhibition, THE VEIL, is the result of a poetic reinterpretation of the current constraints that are continuing to exist, on a societal and individual level, again due to the pandemic historical context. The works are iridescent, and change color depending on the perspective and lighting, but even if they change every time they are looked at, the constriction of the veil, physical and metaphysical, remains, pushing the individual towards his own interiority, the true "place. "where every MTINDO USHAIRI makes its first spark.