From Russia With Love?

The beauty of the African people, the culture, the aesthetically appealing artistry and artifacts has always been a source of exotic wonder and inspiration for further creativity for other parts of the world, even if with an incorporation – a merge of other elements (from other cultures) . Russia is on the spotlight today, I know there is crisis going on right now and hope issues get sorted soon. However, I came across a carefully crafted piece of African inspired artwork done with the ‘Headwrap or Gele‘ as the focal point. Very beautiful and creative shoot, with the use of well placed patterns, colors, form, texture done for the Russian Architectural Digest (not fashion or visual arts), interior design ad campaign for their textile department. The visual art kind of reminded me of Kehinde Wiley and Yinka Shonibare ‘s work , naturalistic and renaissance in appearance while incorporating African elements.

Ironically, Russia was nos 2 on the list of worst countries for blacks to visit according to a January 2014 Atlanta BlackStar article. (Read for details). I am not sure of the authenticity of this claim since I have not visited Russia to share any first hand experiences. According to the piece:

Black visitors will also have to be extra careful when they venture outside of Moscow into the rest of Russia. In a chilling warning, the Russia expert of New Republic, Julie Ioffe, said, “There’s quite a bit of violence against people considered to be Black” in Russia, raising new fears about the safety of Olympic athletes, visitors and media attending the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Ioffe warned that nowhere in Russia is safe for a person of color to visit, outside of Moscow’s city center. – @ATLBlackStar

After all is said and done, there is no doubt that the continent and her people are a source of attraction for aesthetic and cultural inspiration . Here’s the AD Magazine Russia photos below- Taking Headwraps and Fabrics to a Whole New Level for their ad campaign for designer fabrics/textile division. Enjoy!

PHOTO CREDITS

Photographer Olga Volkova Tuponogova-
Stylist: Natalia Obukhov
Model: Keshia Asiedu
Producer: Maria Kuznetsova
Makeup artist: Polina Karpov / MaestroArtExtraordinary
Assistant Photographer: Konstantin Egon
Assistant Stylist: Katerina Konyushenko