Tuesday, July 8, 2014

WALK with 'The rhythm of life', DANCE to 'The rhythm of life', LEAP for 'The rhythm of life'.


The African Symbol

 
Centred in the composition of a piece, an African symbol/emblem is boldly outlined in black. Its message/symbolism - the name given to the piece.

Above that comes an uncontrolled splash of colour. A 'leap' of faith is taken; for the colours will contrast, yet compliment the dark symbolic form – brightening it and bringing verve to the sign! It is within and around the colour that the symbolic form is brought to life. The controlled against adhoc/un-controlled. The dark versus the bright. Meaning and purpose against un-rationalised freedom.  It is this notion which inspires the creation of each unique piece - juxtaposition with unity.

The Shiri Achu Art series of ‘The African Symbol’ is a new collection of art works I hope will educate (whilst adding colour and a modern flare) on the meanings of 'The African symbols'. Whether it is 'hope' we seek, 'humility with strength' we need at another vantage point in our life, 'greatness' we want to achieve etc... we must  LEAP for 'The rhythm of life'.

Shiri Achu Art
'Unity'
Framed Original Art Work



'Humility with strength' and 'Unity' are two of the pieces which will be exhibited for;
'The rhythm of life' Exhibition, which Opens Thursday 10th July 2014. 7pm-11pm

See below for further information.



WALK with 'The rhythm of life', DANCE to 'The rhythm of life', LEAP for 'The rhythm of life'.

 
 
 
 

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

AFRIKKA RADIO INTERVIEW. Post '35InPrint: London' Exhibition, now take 35% off from Shiri Achu Art Limited Prints!!

 
 ~ ~ ~ ~   G r e e t i n g s   ~ ~ ~ ~
 
I hope you enjoyed the interview?!
If you are visiting my blog after listening to the interview with Mr Ernest Kanjo and myself on Afrikka Radio on Wednesday 7th May 2014 - YES! You can get 35% off these 5 items below.
They come protected in a protective sleeve and mat framed, signed, ready for your frame for hanging!
 


Shiri Achu Art Prints: Signed Limited Editions


Maasai tone
Size: 30X40cm
Special 35% off price: £50 / $85
 
 
 
Midnight Tradition
Size: 30X40cm
Special 35% off price: £45 / $75
 
 
Vaisselle a Molyko 1
Size: 30X40cm
Special 35% off price: £45 / $75
 
 
 
 
 
Baforchu big men celebrate!
Size: 30X40cm
Special 35% off price: £50 / $85
 
 
 
Allons au marche
Size: 30X40cm
Special 35% off price: £45 / $75
 
 
 
This very special offer will end a week from today on the 14th of May so do contact Shiri Achu Art on
shiriachuart@ymail.com to place your order.
 
 
Apologies that the website is currently down as its being updated.
We are currently working on it and it should be back up in the next 3-4 weeks.

In the mean time, please add your email address here to be included in Shiri Achu Art mailing list, click HERE. When the site is back up you will get notification. Thank you.
 
Also, you may join me on Facebook
and twitter; @shiriachuart
 
 
With warm regards,
 
Shiri Achu Art.

Monday, April 1, 2013

PoetryArt

I met Najjah Edwards (AKA Still Waters) at my exhibition stand during Black History Month which took place in Wembley stadium in October 2011. Wilde International Network stand was close to mine so she was able to  see my work, and after chatting for some time and looking through all she bought a signed SHIRIACHUART framed print ‘Nurture’. Then, she told me about a project she’d like for me to collaborate with her. A project she had been wanting to do for many years but was looking out for the right artist. I was touched she felt I was the right artist!
A month or so later, we met for coffee and a chat. She told me she’d been working on the idea of having her poetry painted and would love me to paint them. She recited a number of them for me then and I was a little taken aback by their erotic nature and very much interested in the concept!

I thought deeply and felt her poetry, whilst raunchy and erotic, were not vulgar and explicit and if done well the concept was very enlightening and challenging and the paintings could be done very tastefully. I said yes to the commission and said I would do 10 pieces and they would all have to be the same size so there is some uniformity amongst them. She agreed.

I got to work. First I was to choose my favourite 10 out of the 20 poems she had given me to go through. I took about 2 weeks of just digesting them and not doing any painting – and this was on purpose! I read her poems over and over again until I grasped the essence of each one. Then, painting began.

It was a very exciting moment as I picked up my paintbrush to make the first strokes of a piece of art inspired from the words.

I worked diligently on my pieces, always asking myself whether I was capturing the essence of the poetry!

Here, I present two. I will present the poetry, then my painting and a combination of the two - what we have coined 'PoetryArt'. 

What makes me beautiful?
The smile that I wear,
The shells in my hair,
The colour of my eyes,
The beauty in my stride,
The way that I speak,
The sensuousness in my speech,
The passion I have for my faith that I keep,
The essence,
The curves of my breast,
My shape when I’m dressed.


My visual interpretation is this;
























Combined art forms to create this unique PoetryArt limited edition print;
What makes me beautiful.
























The second art piece I present now is called 'Blind obsession' which most women can all relate to at one point.

Blind obsession
Under my skin are the
Uncontrolled emotions,
and soundproof cries.
I am the victim of my own voice.
I vote
for no Romeo and Juliet story.
This private conversation
fills my genetic being as I sleep.
Swollen in my deepness are the rivers of
dialects And disturbances,
from the new and outdated stories of
the betrayal of men, their lies and love affairs
and miss match relationships.
I wake; I step back into my own mystery.
I shrink thoughts dreams and try to feed affection.
To love again.
My face focuses closer.
My mind the actress in my own genre.
I will not swim into streams of manipulation.
I won’t allow the current of any sea to overflow
and lead me into it’s traumas.
I will not live with any man’s unfurnished future
No!
I’ll keep on licking the moisture of me,
my lips
and bap the shades of my droopy eyes
and watch the waters flicker and flicker.
Until I seek and find
the likeness of a naturalist
who’s texture I’II have no need to change.
Then and only then.
I will create the flesh for fidelity
to love again


My visual interpretation is this;
























Combined art forms to create this unique PoetryArt limited edition print;
Blind obsession.
























Having worked on the paintings in 2011 and 2012, this February just gone, it really was time to launch PoetryArt; THE EXHIBITION. We did this by organizing a week long exhibitno at The Tabernacle in Nottinghill, London.

Valentine period seemed the most ideal time to launch this selection of PoetryArt pieces due to the nature of the subject. We titled the event as PoetryArt The launch - Post Valentine's Jazz.







































The opening and closing party were great - Najjah recited some of her pieces to the audience who asked for more and more!! There were sells and some great comments were made...


A few comments from some of guests at the exhibition opening.


Beautiful! The paintings really express the heart of the poems. Brilliant work by both artists. Saint Urie 15.02.2013

Interesting concept. The poetry align well with the visual art. DJ Bemi 22.02.2013

A vibrant and sensual collection. I certainly can relate to the images and the words. Passion is a beautiful thing! Rose Marie Jones 22.02.2013

Inspiring, sensitive and beautiful works of art - like the almagamation of words to the picture - poetic indeed! Keep up the good work. Angela Constable 23.02.2012

Heart and soul, spirit in words and on canvas. Envoking, enlightening, insightful and pure. Love it. Christopher. General manager at The Tabernacle
 
 
Najjah's thoughts on the collaboration;
After emailing Shiri 20 pieces of my work I was there holding on with excitement, this is what I wanted to do for a long time, but could not find the right artist. It's an old concept, but I think it's something that works well. Out of the 20 pieces Shiri chose 10 that she felt she liked, mind you I would not have selected the 10 she did, but she's the artist.
Blind Obsession is all about love and what women go through, when I wrote this piece I could see her mind only, just didn't visualise a room etc. Shiri analysed the piece well a woman in a laying down position no eyes to see, nothing to give too much. I have to say that this is good so there is more imagination for the mind of the person view. What Makes me beautiful she painted her in the shade and a slim woman small breast and dark skinned in a dark shade. My words give you all but the paintings don't, most of them don't. discover is another one that.....
 
In all, when I first observed Shiri's art work of my poetry, I was taken back as I could feel the emotions in most of the paintings, and was able to link most of the poems to the paintings. There was only one piece that I didn't think worked well enough- the painting for 'Superficial'. However, it's one that has grown on me with time. As its so different from the rest of paintings, but it has given me ideas for another project.
The paintings for Blind Obsession, Untamed Love, Inside My Dream, What makes me beautiful, Discover are the ones that I truly love. I do love the way that Shiri works.   
 
 
SHIRIACHUART and Najjah Edwards From Wilde International Network – sell limited edition prints of all 10 PoetryArt pieces. The link for this will be provided soon.

Thank you for reading!! Please leave your comments on the collaboration below.... and on my interpretation of the two pieces presented.

Best,

Shiri

Friday, November 2, 2012

 

Fusion of the Arts:

FROM CANVAS TO THE CATWALK!



  
Earlier this year, a dear friend of mine in New York, Fashion designer Kibonen Nfi, contacted me regarding an idea for her new collection. We brainstormed this idea she had been toiling with; regarding commissioning me to do some paintings which she would then have printed onto various different fabrics which she would design accordingly.

A month or so ago, Kibonen was invited to be part of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa (the continent's biggest fashion showcase) It was to be the perfect time to put the ideas who had earlier spoken about into action!

With faith and determination, we only had 3 weeks to get everything done. The deadline was very tight!
The show was to take place from the 24th-28th October in Johannesburg. I had 3 days to work on two canvases so she could then start her own work.

Now, we are two ladies from Bamenda, in Cameroon, and we both love and love to promote our culture, so this collaboration is perfect! Previously in the past, I made paintings of the New Year celebrations depicting the 'toghu' worn in the Baforchu temple celebrations. Kibonen's work also, very much celebrates the ‘toghu’. 
The ‘toghu' was recently made national wear and was the traditional regalia worn by the Cameroon team during the opening of the London Olympics.

We spoke about the concept of the two pieces. Of course one had to be the 'toghu'... and the other was the 'ndop'.  The former originating from Bamenda, the NW province of Cameroon. The latter from the western province. She had one important request; the 'gong' must feature and ofcourse with the 'gong' featuring in her logo, I must oblige!

After several conversations with my mum, whose father was one of the only people able to embroider the 'toghu' garments in his day in Santa, Bamenda; I designed the pattern I wanted to paint. Guided by the brief and inspired by my mother’s wedding ‘toghu’ attire, I got to work! Then I did the same for the 'ndop' and painted away, using ample paint and making them as painterly as I could so that the brush strokes would be visible once printed onto the fabrics. Also I had to think carefully about how garments would be tailored from them, so the square pattern I created had to be able to mirror well, be repeated sequentially, placed upside down, or to the side etc for a good variety in garment/fashion design.

Working on the 'toghu' design
   

Working on the 'Ndop' design

Right! Two complete canvasses ready for Kibonen / KNY.


From her base in New York, she created swatches to help her decide which colours and fabrics worked best. She experimented with various colour alternatives and fabrics before getting to work on designing and sewing.


She got to work, designed and created and the 'Milagro' collection was borne, ready for the 2012 Mercedes-benz Fashion week Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa.



THE MILAGRO COLLECTION - KNY.
Featuring these pieces with the brush strokes of SHIRI ACHU.





        
Kibonen did a fantastic job!! Ofcourse I will be owning a number of these pieces. You should too! Please feel free to visit this sites for more info on the collection/event:
http://www.ciaafrique.com/2012/10/kibonen-ny-presents-milagro-collection.html

What do you think of this 'art' and 'fashion' collaboration?  I hope this is not the end, but merely the beginning of the fusion of these art forms. I look forward to seeing my brushstrokes worn by many, perhaps you - soon! :-)

All the best,

Shiri

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

SHIRI ACHU ART at the SMITHSONIAN / National Museum of African Art, USA

Greetings to you all.

I’m very excited to share that the SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION in the United States of America  have placed their first, and now their second order for SHIRI ACHU ART PRINTS which are on sale in the NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART in Washington DC – exhibiting the finest examples of traditional and contemporary art from the entire continent of Africa.

The Smithsonian Institution was established in 1846 and is the world's largest museum and research complex, which includes 19 museums and galleries and the National Zoological Park, and is administered by the United States government.

Monday, October 22, 2012

FOOTBALL LEGEND ROGER MILLA ACQUIRES SHIRI ACHU ART.

I had been invited to exhibit at the African Village for the London 2012 Olympics!!
During 'Cameroon Day' at the African Village on the 2nd of August, It was an honor to have met Football legend and Cameroon's very own ROGER MILLA!
Mr Milla acquired a Signed SHIRIACHUART Limited Edition Framed Print 'Along 2'.


Monday, July 16, 2012

SHIRI ACHU ART on TV show ‘Show Me The Monet’ BBC2


‘Show Me The Monet’ BBC2 / Wednesday 18th July 2012


Last November, or was it December, there was a call out for artists to submit their paintings which would be judged on the BBC2 art show ‘Show me the Monet’.

I took a shot and entered one of my new pieces, entitled ‘Rose’, which I had just previously been invited to exhibit at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough house, Pall Mall, London on the 6th of December for Human rights week – Empowering women through art.

A few months passed and I received a call to be told I had made it through to Stage One Selection and my piece was one of the art works selected out of the 3000 entries down to 300 by art critics. Following this was Stage 2 where I was then called in for the Audition day, which was a meeting to talk about myself, my work etc

A month after Stage 2 audition day, in mid February I was called again to be advised I was through to stage 3 – The hanging committee and I was one of 150 selected for the Show Me The Monet Hanging Committee Judging which took place in March. The Judging panel consisted of 3 top art critics, Charlotte Mullins, David Lee and Roy Bolton, who based their decision on these judging criteria’s; The originality of the work, The technical skill of the artist and the emotional response evoked by the work.

Unfortunately I didn’t make it through to Stage 4, the exhibition and sale and be amongst the final 80 or so who had their works exhibited and perhaps purchased. Perhaps I didn’t defend my piece well enough, perhaps they didn’t understand what I am trying to portray in the piece… (although I recall the judges did say the piece had emotional content and was original) but I am happy to have been part of the experience and will take on the critiques given, to make these series of pieces I am currently working on for a grand exhibition next year, great!

Here, I present the painting I had submitted, ‘Rose’ for your comments and critique etc.

The footage of me presenting 'Rose' to the judges on the show, and their critique/review, will be aired this Wednesday, 18th July at 3pm on BBC 2.

Enjoy! And please do leave your comments on the art piece BEFORE the show and comments AFTER the show… I appreciate all your comments, views, critiques etc

Thank you.

Shiri
SHIRIACHUART

Shiri Achu
'Rose'
Acrylics on hardboard
1220mmX610mm
(October 2011)

Signed limited edition prints for sale!!
Approx size A4 - £40
Approx size A3 - £65