Portrait of poet Lebo Mashile

For the collaborative initiatvive Colors of Africa between Design Indaba and Google Arts & Cultre. Africa is known for its bold, unapologetic use of color. Stories are told in pigments, tones and hues; a kaleidoscope as diverse as the cultures and peoples of the continent. For Colors of Africa, we asked 55 African creatives from 55 African countries and territories to capture the unique spirit of their home in a particular shade.
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.
For the initiative a poem by renowned South African poet Lebo Mashile was commissioned. In her poem, Mashile delves into the world of color as represented by the 55 African creatives whose work makes up the Colors of Africa project.

Colors of Africa
Lebogang MashileLebogang Mashile

Eyes flutter in slumbering darkness
The sky, a skin of midnight hues
Dawn shakes the dreamscape of white wonder
As the sun and a continent come into view
A curtain of light is pulled back
On the glow where sand caresses sea
Rich rust
Golden dust
Love red regalia
Awakened orange energy

Yellow sparks of illuminated millions
Contrast the lush sustenance of green
Digital diversity dipped in black
Bold as cobalt
Ochre as ancestry
Purring purple passion
Spirit of violet swirling in citrus seasons
Elegant as obsidian
Resilient as everlasting moss

Retreat into reflective perception
On mango trees, Niamy earth
The ocean in my palm, agu
Nourished by contradictions
The gilded dream colours
that never leave me alone
Joyeuse Jaune de la memoire (joyous yellow of memory)
Botala Ba mme (blue of my mother)
La flamme noire (the black flame)
Heart of bread and rivers
Songs and stories of my bone
Amazigh blue brown shelter
Home is where my hues blend into you