A way to share the beauty and diversity of material heritage across Africa — five greeting cards, each centred on a carefully chosen object from a different part of the continent.
Details of the object, its people, origin, and material on the reverse. Printed on 250gsm Perlino cotton paper with cocoa brown envelopes.
Volume 01 available in a limited run now at seedarchives.com
A selection of titles available in the reading space curated for @rosai.velma ‘s exhibition TO WITNESS! THE STRANGE, THE NUMINOUS at @union_pacific_london .
Open until 30th May.
Understanding African Traditional Religion — J.O. Kayode, 1984
The Sacred Groves of Oshogbo — Susanne Wenger, 1990
The Art of the Personal Object — Philip L. Ravenhill, 1991
African Seats — Ed. Sandro Bocola, 1995
Lamu: A Study of the Swahili Town — Usam Ghaidan, 1975
Isn’t S/He a Doll? Play and Ritual in African Sculpture — Elisabeth L. Cameron, 1996
Tonga Crafts in Figures
Woman in Ancient Africa — Heinrich Loth, 1987
Coiffures Traditionnelles et Modernes au Mali — Mamadou Koné
Down to Earth: Mud Architecture — An Old Idea, a New Future — Jean Dethier, 1982
African Mythology — Geoffrey Parrinder, 1967
In the lead up to @citysplashfest - @seedarchives and I are making space for Caribbean thinkers. Come and engage with our curated selection of social critique, novels, prose, scripts, articles and pamphlets from the Seed Collection - followed by a collective reasoning.
At a time when US militarisation in the region increases, let’s ensure Caribbean voices are held up and we remember what we can learn from them.
Location: 639 high rd, N17 8AA, studio 15 (seed)
You are invited to experience a reading room curated for Velma Rosai-Makhandia’s solo exhibition, TO WITNESS! THE STRANGE, THE NUMINOUS.
The collection brings together titles on African art, design, and architecture, woven through with traditional religion and mythology, inviting visitors to reflect the themes of her work.
Opening tomorrow at @union_pacific_london 6–8pm.
Going into Darkness: Fantastic Coffins from Africa by Thierry Secretan (1995)
Secretan Photographs Ghana’s fantasy coffin tradition, documenting the figurative works of Ga craftsmen who shape coffins into symbols of the deceased’s profession, status, or aspirations — fish, cocoa pods, cars, aeroplanes.
The book explores the cultural context behind these funerary objects: beliefs about death, the afterlife, and communal remembrance through craft.
Available to purchase online via seedarchives.com 📚
Sculptures Ivoiriennes by Bohumil Holas (1968)
(French text)
Available to purchase in the bookshop via seedarchives.com
A study of sculptural traditions from Côte d’Ivoire, documenting the remarkable diversity of Ivorian artistic expression. Holas examines masks, figurative sculptures, and ritual objects from various ethnic groups including the Dan, Baule, Senufo, and others, analyzing their formal qualities, cultural functions, and spiritual significance.
A Lega mask of the Bwami society.
Although this particular example is for decorative purposes, these masks were traditionally used in initiation ceremonies and to signify rank within the Bwami society of the Lega People of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Featured in The Financial Times HTSI (now sold)
More objects available via seedarchives.com
