The I.AM.ISIGO Digital Mystery System bridges the physical-digital divide by preserving and disseminating knowledge of ancient and endangered weaving techniques in Africa. This project is based on I.AM.ISIGO‘s extensive research into remote African artisan communities, aiming to map these significant cultural practices. The tool serves as a digital archive, preserving intricate knowledge systems for future generations, and as an interactive platform for audiences to make new weaving patterns.
A digital environment is a natural reflection of a physical environment. I think of a Sahelian network of wares on camels as an embodied network of hardware connected to each other through movement. When scaled up, this network is an internet of sorts, with growth through connectivity and the build up of organic social networks.
We aim to document previously inaccessible practices surrounding weaving traditions, gain critical understanding of how these materials are processed and used, archive these for future use, make weaving more approachable, bring the knowledge of these techniques to a global audience, unearth ancient systems of governance, challenge the concept of a “finished” good, give a voice to traditional fabrics of Africa, and research the entire supply chain for each of these material knowledge systems.
I.AM.ISIGO Digital Mystery System / Bubu Ogisi (NG), photo: Bubu Ogisi
Our focus is on West Africa and cities like Dakar, Abidjan, Lagos, Accra, Lomé, and Cotonou. We will also explore secondary sites of fiber growing, production, and consumption.
Bios
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Photo: Lakin OgunbanwoBubu Ogisi
NG
Bubu Ogisi is a fiber artist and the Creative Director of the wearable art label I.AM.ISIGO. Her work illuminates how the body interacts with space through time. She achieves this by creating pieces using unconventional materials and ancient African textile techniques that challenge colonial notions of African design. Through the exaggeration of texture, structure, and space, she transforms the conventional rules and expectations of textiles, offering a transient perspective on humanity.
Credits
Creative Direction: Bubu Ogisi
Coding: Uzoma Orji, Uzoma Studios
Art Direction: Tushar Hathiramani
Developer Operations/Management: Kolade Ayo-Vaughan
Presented in the context of the STARTS4Africa project. STARTS4Africa has received funding from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology under grant agreement No. LC-01960720.
