Consider this. A lady with German origins with a Swedish heritage, who fell in love with the Masai tribe in Kenya, and linked the everyday life of the Masai tribes with the Laps in Lapland, from back home in Sweden, and began a unique tribal art form based on these two tribal folklore and traditions, on batik tie-dyed silk screens- That's the UNESCO awarded artist Heidi Lange for you!
It is one thing when such folk art comes from the indigenous people of such marginalized cultures, completely another when an outsider, inspired by the traditions, lifestyles, folklore and customs of such tribes, embarks on a mission to create her own artwork. Today, Lange has not only won several awards for her unique work, she has exhibited her prints and paintings in several countries and has also made her artwork available to the general masses as souvenirs and low-cost memorabilia.
My tryst with her work was in Gamla Stan, the old quarter of Stockholm, when I'd been there in 2013. In a touristy street, rather bylane, tucked between two souvenir stores, was a tiny shop with displays of her work. Amidst the loud tackiness of the other colorful souvenirs, the prints and paintings of Heidi Lange caught my undivided attention. Her frequent motifs are moose, set in various formats and designs, as well as Viking ships. At that time, I had no inkling of who she was, and also that she sold African based art. The batik printed silkscreens I bought were these:
The other works of hers can be accessed here:
http://www.heidilange.com/commercial.html
Images of Vikings in Lapland with lots of moose motifs:
After I returned from Stockholm, I sat down to research her work, and the moment the Masai art showed up, I was hooked. There are beautiful renditions of just busts of women:
And other works abound in pastoral life:
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Can African art be complete without it's flora, fauna and masks?
A true inspiration!
