A brand new edition of ‘Café d’Afrique’ is about to go to the printers. In the past few months I have revised the story with writer and editor Michèle Drouart, which has rendered the story tighter and smooter. Claire Bates from Rosalie Okely's studio designed a new cover (image above). The new edition of the book will be available worldwide through print-on-demand (POD) and e-book.
A special edition of the book (pre-orders only) will have even more to offer: music.
Indeed, the book -- like the Café -- is a celebration of Zambian culture. Along with the staff and other artists, musicians made ‘Café d’Afrique’ what it was through their music. The main musicians whose characters also feature in the book are Maureen Lilanda and Brian Zanji. After Brian Zanji passed away, leaving a legacy of storytelling and music, I decided to dedicate the book 'Café d'Afrique' to him.
As much as their music was part of Café d'Afrique, it will be part of your reading experience through the CD which will be released with the new edition of the book, thanks to the generosity of the artists involved and their supporters.
Brian Zanji's music Africa Zalila-Ngoma was published in Germany. Pit Budde from Acoustics Music Records in Germany says he did not hesitate to support the idea of linking the music to the book. ‘I want to show my respect to the person Brian Zanji as a friend and artist. And I want to do what I can that he is still reminded and his work will not be forgotten.’
Maureen Lilanda’s almond spiced voice as described in the book is alive and kicking. Maureen continues her friendship with Café d’Afrique through this new CD. I am thrilled it will allow more people around the world to enjoy Maureen’s African Jazz and read about what cemented our friendship.
And last but not least: Chilu Lemba, Zambian musician and hip-hop star nicknamed 'King Bongo' has joined the initiative. Chilu Lemba is a former journalist who has great admiration for Brian Zanji. Chilu Lemba has contributed his new song ‘Cciuta’ to the CD. ‘Cciuta’ is fusion of hip-hop and traditional lyrics from the Madondo, who like Brian sang in his own language (Tumbuka) and passed away in the early 2000's.
You can now pre-order the special edition package of Café d’Afrique with the new edition of the book and the music CD all for $35. E-mail us with your name, address and number of books you would like to order, and we'll take it from there.
Visual Arts
BOOM!
The Oats Factory, Perth's newest contemporary art space
24 February 2012 – 18 March 2012
The word ‘boom’ is wonderfully loaded, an onomatopoeia, to describe a resonant sound of impact ie. a booming voice. Or, it can mean a time of growth and development. Western Australia has been in the grip of a resources boom since 2006. But, what does this mean for the people who live here? What is our individual or collective experience?
A group of artists -- the illustre collective also known as ‘Stitch ‘n Bitch who have been working together for over ten years -- explore the phenomena of boom times. Previous group exhibitions include Making Waves I and II, Forest Floor and The Third House. Many are award winning and highly collectible artists: Jill Ansell, Clare Bestow, Vanessa Bradley, Louise Carre, Beba Hall, Georgina Moss, Diana Papenfus, Geraldine Pillinger, Gail Putz and myself.
Boom! sculpture by Georgina Moss
To me Boom! comes with many layers. It is the unearthing of precious and rare rocks and minerals, and those particular ones linked to the resources boom. My geologist-husband keeps reminding me that as long as we use cars, phones and houses, we will need mineral resources. While earth's richness cannot be underestimated, and is always bewildering, we live at a time when these richess are exposed like never before. As a jeweler I capture them, freeze these rarities in a frame of beauty, of jewellery to be adorned by present and future generations.
This piece is built around an Aragonite crystal (North Africa). Other stones are obsidian, garnet, amber, rutile quartz, carnelian, coral, tourmaline, pyrite, lapis lazuli. Photo Stephen Lobo.
But there is hesitance. Not everything unearthed should see the light of day. Boom times come and go and can leave more debris in their wake than prosperity. When trekking through Madagascar with a geological expedition, crossing primary forests and untouched villages, I wondered if and what people would gain from new mining ventures. In other parts of the country these massive changes had destroyed fragile subsistence economies.
'Safe Asbestos?' North West Australia, oxydised silver
In the last few months, while thinking of this exhibition, a strong sense emerged that I did not want to create more ‘stuff’. Boom! means that we have reached the high of consumption, and pleads to follow our senses and scale down on consuming. Therefore, any piece of jewellery for this exhibition and most of future work will come from pre-existing materials. Metal, including silver and gold, has the wonderful capacity to be melted and re-shaped many times. I actually enjoy incorporating old metal, bits of old jewellery, old collections of rocks and gemstones, all pre-owned, and meaningful to someone, some time.
And with this in mind, I will continue to prepare for Boom! Come and see the result at the Oats Factory.
'Boom' opens 6-8pm Friday 24th Feb
please RSVP to melody.smith@theoatsfactory.com.au
The Oats Factory, 69 Oats St Carlisle Tel 08 9472 8043.
Mouse Memorial
On a recent family trip to Hobart in Tasmania we visited the Museum of Old and New (MONA) and its current exhibition by Wim Delvoye. This was my first visit to MONA, and I found it as inspiring as revolting. Biological Arts does this with you. I found myself wondering why Belgians are so strongly represented in the artform. Other than Delvoye, there were also works by Jan Fabre and Berlinde De Bruyckere. Making jewellery from mouse lungs is not that far fetched a project at all.
Preserved mouse lungs, Tineke Van der Eecken
The 2011 residency with SymbioticA focused on establishing techniques for preserving mouse lungs. While working in the ‘animal house’ with Dr Sally Lansley from the Lung Institute of Western Australia (image below) I realised that this was probably as close as I would ever be of a childhood dream of becoming a vet. But more importantly, we found corrosion casting using ‘Batson’ allowed for good results and the obtained forms could be transferred into precious metal. Dr Sally Lansley works with Prof Y Gary Lee on new therapies for lung cancer, and relies on mouse models for her research.
Working with Dr Sally Lansley on the SymbioticA project
Working at the Lung Institute of WA taught me about the undeniable role of research animals, in particular mice, to finding cures for human disease. My intention for the next stage to pay tribute to mice whose lives have and will continue to be sacrificed for health sciences, through the creation of a ‘mouse memorial’. This is likely to take the shape of an installation, a multi-faceted piece of work that combines jewellery and small sculpture with photography (including microscope imagery) and poetry.
My sincere thanks to Oron Catts, Director of SymbioticA and to the Lung Institute of Western Australia.
New outlet: Tineke Creations jewellery at David Giles Gallery
Café d’Afrique, reviewed by The Poet Floreate
“Tineke Van Der Eecken is an amazing woman. At the tender age of 24, she leaves the comforts of her home in Belgium to join the international effort to eradicate poverty in Africa. With little idea of what to expect and armed only with her deep-seated dreams of justice for all, she quickly comes to realise the problems facing the region are many, and underlying it all is the corruption and power mongering of those who could be doing some good.
Tineke’s spirit is strong and despite the enormous challenges, she remains undaunted. Her journey brings her to Lusaka in Zambia where she works for the United Nations. The café seems to spring from her need to gather everything that is good about Zambia into one place where it can be cherished, savoured and celebrated. It becomes the symbol of the richness and diversity of the African culture, where local and traditional food is the focus and the colourful and flamboyant nature of its music and dance can be showcased; the very essence of Africa all rolled into one.
In her own unique way, Tineke reveals the struggles, heartaches and disappointments she faces in keeping the café afloat; how her business partner leaves much of the decision-making and effort to her, and how even her employees can turn against her.
Set against the backdrop of a continent in turmoil, this one small café becomes a perfect metaphor of its plight.
If you have ever wondered what life in Africa is like, or even if you already know, this book will take you to new levels of awareness. Life and death walk hand in hand. Desperation wins out over honesty, reducing good people to acts of theft just to survive. Yet above it all, the human spirit is a shining example of strength and endurance, and Café d’Afrique embodies this wholeheartedly.
A thoroughly recommendable read.”
Louise Gillian Evans
Would you like to see your uncensored review appear in this newsletter? Submissions for the next issue are due by 15 March 2012.
