Expression of the ordeals of “kayayie” through mixedmedia textile art

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Date
2021-06-22
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Abstract
Teenage girls and young women come principally from the Savanna Regions of Northern Ghana to the Southern zone for greener pastures in the city and are popularly known as female head potters “kayayie”. This practice exposes them to varying dangers and struggles just to make a living. To bring to the fore such challenges in textile art, the project sought to employ mixed-media materials and techniques to produce art works that communicate their struggles. Mixed media is a versatile means of self-expression and creativity where ideas and forms are represented in a unique way. To achieve the project’s focus, the studio-based methods was exercised supported by the Aesthetico-Action Research model by Cora marshal. Non-participant observation and unstructured interview were the main instruments used for data collection. The study revealed three major findings. The first set of findings revealed that, cyanoacrylate adhesive is suitable for varieties of materials and has the ability to wet the fabric to give strong bond with high resistance. Unprimed background before painting resulted in more absorption of paint to fill the amorphous areas of the canvas. Cotton fabric is a suitable substrate for producing mixed media textile art works. The project revealed the possibility of producing textile art using materials available in the environment using combined techniques like assemblage, painting, sewing and applique to communicate a message. The project recommends that vocational training centres should be built to train “kayayie” and practicing artists as well as students on how to use waste materials in the environment to produce textile art.
Description
A project report submitted to the Department of Industrial Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirement For the degree of Master of Fine Art (Textile Design) Faculty of Art, College of Art and Built Environment.
Keywords
Expression, Ordeals of “kayayie, mixedmedia textile art
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