Still from Sweet Salone - Unity & Justice

The below images are stills taken from Ngadi Smart's film Sweet Salone - Unity & Justice. The film is a commissioned work created for Design Indaba's initiative Colours of Africa.

Africa is known for its bold, unapologetic use of colour. Stories are told in pigments, tones and hues; a kaleidoscope as diverse as the cultures and peoples of the continent. For the initiative Colours of Africa, a collaborative project with Google Arts & Culture, we asked 60 African creatives to capture the unique spirit of their country in a colour which represents home to them.

The projects they have created are personal and distinct stories of Africa, put into images, videos, texts and illustrations. Each artist has also attempted to articulate what being African means to their identity and view of the world.

Colour:Tricolour: Blue, White, Green
Country:Sierra Leone

Artwork Rationale:

Although I am Sierra Leonean, I have moved around a lot and spent very few months there in the last five years. When I think of colours that represent Sierra Leone, I think of the flag.

The colours of Sierra Leone are a tricolour made of green, white and blue. Green and blue really are prevalent there in terms of the landscape of the country. The green alludes to the country's natural resources – specifically its agriculture and mountains. The blue evokes the natural harbour of Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone.

The white epitomises 'unity and justice', and our contribution to the hope of a world defined by peace. The very essence of us as Sierra Leoneans is our perseverance and strength to continue in life despite the impossible, so I focused on creating a piece that communicates unity between these three colours, and therefore speaks of a country that is led by hope and peace.

I was inspired by my country’s warmth despite its past hurdles. Sierra Leone somehow remains a country where the warmth in an embrace, greeting and smile is valued, despite its many past hurdles. The country is a triforce of people drawing close with the colours and their specific symbolism to uplift and unite. That is what first came to mind when I began my Colours of Africa journey, and it made sense to assemble it all together.

The visual art I have created for Colours of Africa represents this unity between the people of Sierra Leone, the warmth and kindness that is exchanged amongst its inhabitants. It uses the colours of the flag of Sierra Leone, the most prominent of which is white for the hope we have in our nation’s future.

What it means to be African

Being African is celebrating being unique and diverse, and at the same time celebrating being part of a whole.

Biography

Ngadi Smart is a Sierra Leonean visual artist based between Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire and London, UK. She works in the mediums of illustration, collage and photography.

Smart’s work is usually motivated by the representation of minorities, cultural identity, as well as themes around feminism and gender roles. She likes to deconstruct mainstream society's preconceived views of what the definitions of 'normal', 'beautiful', and 'right' are.

She has illustrated for The Atlantic, OneWorld Magazine, Reportagen Magazine, and for publishing houses such as Riverhead Books NYC.