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MARCH '25 LIBRARY REVIEWS

LEGACY FICTION (SUDAN / DIASPORA)

Wings of Dust by Jamal Mahjoub, 2024 (1994)
R285 from The Book Lounge

A fictional memoir about the journey of a middle aged man, Sharif, living in exile in France. Through a seamless flow of events we see how he and several other young countrymen go to post World War II England to get a European education that could be applied in their recently independent country. It is a story of the formation of the republic of Sudan which captures the complexities of Sharif’s migration as well as a return home to a post-colonial present. A clever exploration of identity, place and memory. Belinda Musoke

CONTEMPORARY FASHION (DIASPORA)

Africa’s Fashion Diaspora by Elizabeth Way, 2024
R1005 from Jonathan Ball

Stitching West Africa to West Indies and Nairobi to New York, the chapters of Africa’s Fashion Diaspora weave a global fashion tapestry illuminated by the glistening threads of the African diaspora. Based on an innovative exhibition at FIT Museum which explores the “lack of black” in an industry long inspired by African culture, this book highlights the global impact that black designers have had on contemporary fashion; and through visual storytelling showcases the common cultural experience of being black in a white-dominated world. From essays on issues such as national dress and the complexity of cultural appropriation, to glistening pages of hand-stitched embroidery, Africa’s Fashion Diaspora is as much a history book about fashion as it is a fashion book about history. Lindy Cohen

CONTEMPORARY FASHION (DIASPORA)

Africa’s Fashion Diaspora by Elizabeth Way, 2024
R1005 from Jonathan Ball

Stitching West Africa to West Indies and Nairobi to New York, the chapters of Africa’s Fashion Diaspora weave a global fashion tapestry illuminated by the glistening threads of the African diaspora. Based on an innovative exhibition at FIT Museum which explores the “lack of black” in an industry long inspired by African culture, this book highlights the global impact that black designers have had on contemporary fashion; and through visual storytelling showcases the common cultural experience of being black in a white-dominated world. From essays on issues such as national dress and the complexity of cultural appropriation, to glistening pages of hand-stitched embroidery, Africa’s Fashion Diaspora is as much a history book about fashion as it is a fashion book about history. Lindy Cohen

CONTEMPORARY ART (SOUTH AFRICA)

Esther Mahlangu: To Paint is in my Heart by Thomas Girst, Azu Nwagbogu and Hans Ulrich Obrist, 2024
R685 from from Jonathan Ball

This delightfully small (it’s almost pocket-sized) book packs a serious graphic punch – much like its subject, whose output over the past 50 or so years has been rightfully acclaimed the world over. Mahlangu’s extraordinary eye for colour, and her ability to combine and juxtapose colours in harmonious and interesting ways, is brilliantly demonstrated here via the experience of paging through the many reproduced images of her work. Her graphic lines and shapes, all of which are drawn entirely by hand, form another fascinating dimension of it, and one that heightens its hypnotic and rhythmic qualities. Focused resolutely on the artworks themselves and with just the right amount (not much!) of words attempting to “explain” them, this is one of my favourite new art books in years. Robyn Alexander

CONTEMPORARY ART (CONTINENT-WIDE & DIASPORA)

Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys by Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) and Alicia Keys, with an interview by Kimberli Gant, 2024
R1715 from Jonathan Ball

Chronicling the remarkable collection of contemporary art put together by Kasseem Dean and Alicia Keys over the past few decades, Giants features the work of artists from both Africa and the diaspora, and includes work in media ranging from photographs to paintings. While artworks by legends such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kehinde Wiley, and rising luminaries like Lynette Yiadom-Boakye are always a pleasure to see, it’s the photographs in Giants that really caught my attention. From an evocative gelatin print portrait by Malian photographer Malick Sidibe to a plethora of joyful photos of black New Yorkers by Jamel Shabazz, they are wonderful. Robyn Alexander

CONTEMPORARY ART (CONTINENT-WIDE & DIASPORA)

Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys by Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) and Alicia Keys, with an interview by Kimberli Gant, 2024
R1715 from Jonathan Ball

Chronicling the remarkable collection of contemporary art put together by Kasseem Dean and Alicia Keys over the past few decades, Giants features the work of artists from both Africa and the diaspora, and includes work in media ranging from photographs to paintings. While artworks by legends such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kehinde Wiley, and rising luminaries like Lynette Yiadom-Boakye are always a pleasure to see, it’s the photographs in Giants that really caught my attention. From an evocative gelatin print portrait by Malian photographer Malick Sidibe to a plethora of joyful photos of black New Yorkers by Jamel Shabazz, they are wonderful. Robyn Alexander

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