Arriving Venice for Arts Enclosures, Beautiful city, but the fact that cars, bikes etc are not allowed in this city was my no one concerns. Alot of walking...the residency is in two parts, 1st part which we just rounded up at the end of August. Greater part of this month was spent walking, this walk started getting interesting when I had to walk through the museums, the biennale, exhibitions, and I gradually started getting inspired for my work. This inspiration led to some research which will forms the synopsis for my project. 
The Venice project is titled Habitus. Having worked on a project in Nigeria that looked into the influx of second hand clothing in Africa and its impliction on the textile and fashion industries. while in Venice, am interested in investigating the process involved in the collecting and shipping of used clothing to Africa.
This led to my going to 'ca' letizia' in Mestre. Ca'letizia ia a cathotholic organization in Mestre which started in 1967, its been running for 44 years now, helping poor people have a living, providing clothes, food and shelter for poor people in Italy.
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| delivered clothes at ca' letizia |
It was interesting to find out how people donate used clothes and other useful items to the organiztion, the clothes are then selected and the good ones laundered and arranged for distribution to the poor people. This distribution is done once a month to each person, twice every week, fifty different poor people gets clothes from this centre twice every week
After selecting the good clothes, the bad once are sent to another centre in Rovigo (which am yet to visit) from Rovigo am told these clothes are packed and shipped to Africa and some third world countries.
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| selected and arranged clothes for distribution at ca'letizia |
This research on the process of collecting and shipping used clothings to Africa, I hope to conclude as part of my project when I return to Venice next month for the second part of my project.
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| selected and arranged clothes for distribution at ca'letizia |
At the end of my research with handed down clothes, I hope to collect some of these used clothes which will be used for my work.
I hope to combine this used clothing with venetian textiles, transform them into venetian styles which will be worn be both Italians and Africans, am interested in creating the fiction of authenticity of African in venice through this project.
Reading about the history of venetian fashion, I hope some of the ancient venient styles will inflence my work. find below some samples of venetian styles of the 15th and 16th century.
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| Drawing of a coutersan wearing a platform shoes |
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| Pair of platform shoes (calcagnini), Venice 15th century |
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| Andrie’ (Lady’s dress), Venice 1700-1755 Made of Tours disere and brocaded, this dress shows the typical fullness of the eighteen century |
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| 16th and 17th century lady’s dress (1765) In shimmering pink-violet taffeta brocaded silk. Venice, Musei Civici, Palazzo mocenigo, cl. Xxiv pg.322 |
Walking through correr museum where a temporary exhibition took place, there hung this red shirt, based on my concerns with clothes, started asking questions about the red shirt, and I was told how significant the red shirt was to the unification of Italy. Reading about the red shirt, got to realize that the red shirt was a symbol of the unification of Italy because Gieuseppe Garibaldi who was the most revolutionary Italian leader while fighting for italian unity had one thousand red shirt for the volunteers who worked with him.
Redshirts (Italian Camicie rosse) or Red coats (Italian Giubbe Rosse) is the name given to the volunteers who followed Giuseppe Garibaldi in southern Italy during his Mille expedition to southern Italy.
Garibaldi red shirts were obtained from a factory in montevideo, which had intended to export them to the slaughter homes in Argentina.
At this time that Italy is celebrating its 150 years of unity, Its very significant for me to collect 1000 red shirts from both Nigeria and Italy which will be used for my work and this work will be a tribute to Giuseppe Garibaldi for his significant role in the unification of Italy.
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| Guiseppe Garibaldi |
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| Red Shirt (Camise rosse) Correr Museum( temporary exhibition to mark 150 anniversary of Italian Unity) |
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