Sweeping House Girl

Vector illustration: Sweeping House Girl. I added some texture to it and made it a bit map. I wanted it to look more like fabric. On the other hand most micro stocks demand purely vector based illustrations so the vector has to look good on its own as well.

I realise this would not make a very useful fabric for sewing as the figure in the middle is so dominating. This is more like a wall hang. Vlisco and other Wax Print producers have also done a few pieces like this anyway. My aim is however to make an illustration inspired by fabrics and not an actual fabric pattern. Still it would be nice to have it printed on fabric as a wall hang. There are a few places where you can order your own images printed on fabric but they are mostly small scale. I wonder where I could print this one foot wide as I planned it…

I will make the rest of the “girls” with the same idea and then I will play with some colours. At the moment it’s monochromatic because I find it easier to work that way.

I like the way working with computer generated images makes it easy to move things around and create new shapes. I did only very ruff sketches. Copying and reflecting the figure made a nice little effect. I like how the brooms form a kind of star together. It reminds me o coat of arms or something like that.

I think it’s time to look at what I have achieved from the point of view of acknowledging my biases. First thing that comes to mind is what I earlier wrote also that this kind of topics continue to point a servant role to Africans. I’m hoping I can still develop the series so that the bigger picture would be on a brighter side.

Another thing that comes to mind is that the use of the duchess wax print is a very repeated thing. Wax prints have become symbols of Africa though they originate from Europe.

Use of silhouettes as mentioned before removes any form of individuality from the character. It brings to mind back light images in TV documentaries when talking about stigmatising issues. I guess I do see the character as vulnerable and in need of protection. This could be a patronising attitude.

I find myself unwilling to make changes after the analysis. I feel these are not heavy accusations and they can be accepted for the sake of producing an interesting image. Am I using senseless dictator here?