In my Easter headscarf with all the frills upon it ...

in my Easter bonnet ...

Doesn't quite have the same ring to it as an Easter bonnet and I know it doesn't rhyme but ...

















I had been trying to decide what kind of hat to wear for Easter this year to go along with my colorful and graphic African print dress from Muntsho and then last week an art exhibit featuring African headscarves called "Scarf" opened at the Everard Read Gallery in Rosebank.

I have long been intrigued by the colorful scarf headpieces that the African women create and wear. They are, according to the exhibit's artist, "an everyday symbol of African beauty." I secretly desired to try it myself someday. Was the timing of this exhibit a sign from God that I should rock an African scarf on Easter? I decided it was.

Gary Stephens is the artist whose work at Everard Read celebrates African style. He is American born in Arizona and his work has been shown previously at MOMA! After a decade of living and working in Florence, he now lives in South Africa in a large studio on the eastern edge of downtown Johannesburg. In this exhibition, Gary explores the place of the scarf in African societies, fashion and culture.

The work in many ways pays tribute to the work of pop artists from the 60's and 70's. Warhol's colorful portraits and the bright colors of James Rosenquist. It also pays tribute to the graffiti artists of today.

Many of his portraits are painted on paper "canvases" which are pleated and folded in long vertical strips. All that time in Florence made me think he was influenced by Fortuny. For one of his canvases, he used corrugated metal which produced a similar effect to the folded paper.

We decided that big earrings are an absolute must and sunglasses definitely complete the look. Fierce!

His models were not only women. Some of the works also featured men in their equally colorful clothing and hats. The men in Africa are certainly not wallflowers when it comes to dressing.They can teach the peacock a thing or two!

(all opening party photos from the Everard Read Gallery FB page)

Unfortunately I missed the opening night party for the exhibit last week when I was in Cape Town. The artist was there of course and guests were encouraged to wear headscarves.

The gallery even provided helpers on opening night who were available to instruct novices on how it's done. Darn! Now I have to find my own helpers to give me scarf tying tips.

Muntsho mannequin with scarf

I picked up a scarf to complement my Easter dress at Muntsho at the African Crafts Market in Rosebank.

Leon showed me how to tie it; he is such a sport!

Okay ... let's see if I can rock this look for my Ndebele Easter like these gals did at the exhibit's opening night party!