Romanticism - NATAAL Digital Issue 1

DIGITAL ISSUE 1

ROMANTICISM

A MAGAZINE CELEBRATING GLOBAL AFRICAN VISUAL ART, FASHION, MUSIC & CULTURE

Digital Issue 1

WELCOME

Welcome to the debut digital edition of Nataal magazine. These new bite-sized issues are going to come regularly to our website and on Issuu, as a compliment to our full-scale print issues. Each will be dedicated to our mood of the moment and ask our creative community to reflect upon it.

Issue one opens up to modern Romanticism in its myriad forms.

We’ve all longed for the simple pleasures of being close to our nearest and dearest over the past year, so let’s stop to fully appreciate love, whether of the nostalgic, lustful, platonic or familial kind.

These six special stories draw on the ideals of Romanticism – with its emphasis on artistic imagination and unfettered emotion – to explore how different expressions of creativity can tap into that sense of joy, safety and intimacy found in being wrapped in another’s love.

Time, then, to get all up in your feelings…

Love and hugs from Team Nataal x

FRONT MATTER 3 7

WELCOME TEAM & CONTRIBUTORS

UPFRONT & FEATURES 8 WAITING TO SEA YOU AGAIN This illustration by Precious Opara yearns for the great outdoors

10 SERPENTWITHFEET The celebrated musician revels in Black gay love on his latest album

16 NGWATILO MAWIYOO Listen to two heartfelt poems by this Kenyan poet

20 ACCIDENTALLY ROMANTIC Dakar-based architect Mamy Tall’s film, essay and photo series on Senegal’s urban landscape

28 ODE TO OMAR GATLATO Hajer Ben Boubakar of the Vintage Arab podcast on this seminal Algerian film FASHION

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I LOVE YOUR LOVE 5

© King Owusu “Best Boy” Sweatshirt

JOYEUX STORE

Galerie Number 8 x Nataal LIMITED EDITION COLLECTION Visit galerienumber8.com

TEAM Founder ALASSANE SY

Design Direction BENJAMIN JOHNSTON & DELLANO PEREIRA AT THREE60 Art Directors DELALI AYIVI ISABELA LIMA PRECIOUS OPARA

Creative Director MARIE GOMIS-TREZISE

Contributing Editors AMBER NICOLE ALSTON BINWE ADEBAYO STÉPHANE GABOUÉ WANJERI GAKURU Assistants BLESSING BORODE UDOCHUKWU EMEKAOKAFOR

Managing Director SCOTT KRAENZLEIN

Social Media Editor XANTHE SOMERS

Account Director CONSTANZA SPERAKIS Associate Editor MIRIAM BOUTEBA

Cover I LOVE YOUR LOVE BY OLIVIA LIFUNGULA & NATHAN KLEIN

Typeface Design HAAKON SPENCER & MATTHEW FENTON AT BRITISH STANDARD TYPE CONTRIBUTORS Alice Andrews, Aliyah Johnson, Amidat Giwa, Avrelle Delisser, Ayesha Marr, Barbra Broadley, Bevan Agyemang, Bianca Saunders, Braylen Dion, Elena Scanagatta, Feven, Gabrielle, Oke, Hajer Ben Boubaker, Halo, Haruna, Irene Arraez, Jennie Wright, Lennie Ballack, Luis Cabral De Barros, Maganga Mwagogo, Mamy Tall, Mary Jane Gotidoc, Miguel Cabral De Barros, Muriel Cole, Nathan Klein, Ngwatilo Mawiyoo, Olivia Lifungula, Penelope Akinde, River, Stephanie Kane, stephseeks, Tenille Foster, Tytiah Blake, Zion Akinde NATAAL ON SCREEN Visit us at nataal.com Follow us at @nataalmedia

Editorial Director HELEN JENNINGS

COPYRIGHT All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, reprinted or transmitted without permission from the publishers.

Although the greatest care is taken to ensure all information contained in Nataal is accurate, neither the publisher nor the authors can accept responsibility for damage resulting from the use of this information. The views and opinions expressed in Nataal magazine are those of the contributors and are not necessarily shared by the magazine or its staff.

Every effort has been made to contact the copyright owners of the images and texts in this issue. Any copyright holders we have not reached, or to whom inaccurate acknowledgement has been made, are invited to contact us.

Nataal magazine is published by Nataal Ltd. 92–96 De Beauvoir Road, London, N1 4EN For all enquiries: info@nataal.com

CONTRIBUTORS OLIVIA LIFUNGULA Olivia is a Belgian-Congolese photographer and filmmaker based in London. Her work revolves around themes of intimacy, beauty and the construction of Black femininity in arts and media. She was recently featured in Vogue Italia on the list of 20 female photographers to watch and has worked with publications including Harper’s Bazaar UK, Refinery29, Marie Claire US and Vogue Italia.

MAMY TALL M amy is a Senegalese architect, art director and photographer who advocates for locally inspired aesthetics and materials. She is also the co-founder of the LIVES platform documenting life and culture in Dakar, Conakry, Bamako, Lomo and across Morocco. For Nataal she ruminates on how Senegal has an accidentally romantic approach to the built environment.

MAGANGA M aganga was born and raised between MWAGOGO Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya, where he learnt photography at a young age through his father, an amateur film photographer.

His professional career sprouted in 2016 when working on The Nest Collective’s fashion book ‘Not African Enough’ and he has since then gone ahead to work on several campaigns and editorials for both local and international brands and publications. He currently Iives and works in Nairobi.

WANJERI GAKURU W anjeri is a journalist, essayist and filmmaker. Her writing can be spotted in Transition Magazine, The Africa Report, The Elephant, LA Times Magazine and CNN. She was selected the 2018 Literary Ambassador for Nairobi and in 2020 appointed Nataal’s Nairobibased contributing editor. In this issue she speaks to writer and poet Ngwatilo.

NATHAN KLEIN

athan is a London-based stylist whose N work is inspired by the cultural and social richness of his upbringing. He’s collaborated with brands including SSENSE, Off-White and Kenzo and has contributes to publications such as Vogue, Dazed and Luncheon. For this debut digital edition, he conceptualised our cover story, which informs the rest of the issue with its themes of tender closeness and featuring key looks from Bianca Saunders.

TEAM & CONTRIBUTORS

AMIDAT GIWA A midat was born and raised in London and started her hair styling career early in the family run salon. After assisting Duffy she quickly established herself as part of the new wave creatives in London and has collaborated with photographers Ronan Mckenzie, Campbell Addy, Jackie Nickerson and Julien Martinez Leclerc.

Her work can be seen in publications such as i.D, Dazed, The Face and Vogue.

Commercial clients include Dior, Glossier, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Net-APorter and Farfetch.

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This is what daydreaming about the joys of luxuriating in wild natural locations looks like

Waiting to Sea You Again, 2021

This new illustration by Precious Opara is her personal contemplation on longing for the natural world during lockdown. The London-based multidisciplinary creative and Nataal art director is interested in exploring the human body, psyche and surrealism and this work, entitled Waiting To Sea You Again, was created to reflect on the theme of romanticism in this issue. Here, Opara explains her vision.

“I created this piece in response to my reemphasised connection with natural surroundings as a result of being at home for the most part of 2020. Daily walks around my neighbourhood and local parks became a lifeline to me.

The green shades of tree leaves and grass, the blues of the water and the sky became an acute obsession. A lot of the time on my walks, I’d reminisce about places I had been where I was free to be amongst nature: visiting forests, beaches and jungles around

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the world, or simply swimming in lakes with my friends. Being far apart from these happy places meant my fond memories of them ran wild, intensifying my romanticised longing to return.

I chose to depict this through a surrealist construction of what appears to be a bedroom, where I spent most of my time (over) thinking. I included elements from my home, such as the living room where photos from my travels are displayed. In addition, layered cuts of images from these destinations construct a sense of comfort and escape. Essentially, this is me daydreaming of places I’ve loved and long to experience again.”

See PRECIOUS OPARA’S t-shirt design for JOYEUX STORE, which raises funds for THE BLACK CURRICULUM, here. See PRECIOUS OPARA’S t-shirt design on JOYEUX STORE here. Visit her Instagram here. (Above) UNTITLED, 2021.

(Opposite) WAITING TO SEA YOU AGAIN, 2001.

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UPFRONT

Illustration PRECIOUS OPARA

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SERPENTWITHFEET

The hailed musician gives praise to Black gay love on his sophomore album Deacon

Words HELEN JENNINGS Photography BRAYLEN DION 10

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FEATURE

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Serpentwithfeet is feeling all kinds of warm and fuzzy on his sophomore album Deacon. The new work is dedicated to Black gay love in all its most tender forms, from sexual and romantic to familial and platonic, and is very much a reflection of the artist’s current state of mind. “I’m just really relaxed right now,” he tells me on a video call from Los Angeles.

It’s certainly a sonic and emotional evolution from his 2018 album Soil, which was also about queer love but of the more anguished kind. With melodramatic lyrics of heartbreak and longing soaring over grandiose gospel and R&B-infused experimental sonics, his accomplished debut throbbed. Deacon is no less deep or magnificent, his voice still gliding from delicate falsettos into the fleshier depths of his timbre; his melodies remaining steeped in soul. But this time around, as hinted at by his 2020 EP Apparition, serpentwithfeet is ready to make “grown and sexy” music that comes from a place of self-love.

Baltimore boy Josiah Wise grew up singing in Pentecostal choirs while listening to Brandy and Janet Jackson. He studied classical singing and developed his craft in Philadelphia and Paris’ music scenes before moving to New York and releasing his first EP Blisters in 2016. Since then, he’s collaborated with artists as diverse as Björk and Ty Dolla $ign and received wide critical acclaim for his singularly beautiful fusion of the sacred and profane.

With Deacon, he’s also giving us what we’ve all been missing during lockdown – a sense of calmness and emotional wellbeing that only comes from unreservedly opening yourself up to joy. Standout features come from Nao on the single ‘Heart Storm’, which likens love to a magical tempest, and Sampha and Lil Silva on the gentle and tingly ‘Fellowship’, their ode to friendship. Elsewhere we go from the first date to the bedroom to meeting the parents. This is an artist who’s now happy to be happy.

So, let’s get into those feels…

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HELEN JENNINGS In your 2018 interview with Nataal about Soil you said, “My songs are me trying to figure out my dating life.”

With Deacon, it sounds like you’ve got it all worked out.

SERPENTWITHFEET I don’t know if it’s ever possible to have it all figured out. But you do learn some things. Before getting into this album, it’s important to talk about the first song I wrote once I moved to LA in 2018 - ‘Receipts’ featuring Ty Dolla $ign. On that song, I was writing about my experience of being loved and taken care of, and learning how to accept that. It’s about not being sceptical when people are being caring and thoughtful. That’s the greatest lesson. That cancels out a lot of drama. People have been really great to me actually. They always have been, I’m just better able to recognise it now.

HJ What’s helped you turn that corner – getting to a riper age?

SWF Yes, and being a better listener.

I’m sure there are people out there who have strange motives but I can’t live my life beholden to the idea that everyone is a charlatan and taking advantage. It’s an exhausting way to live. Now I’m just like, I’m not naïve, but if you are being kind then you’re being kind. Period.

HJ The album is devoid of sad breakup songs. That’s a bold move for a fan of R&B. SWF Simplicity is the name of the game this time around. It’s like, we went out to lunch. The salmon was fabulous.

Loved the risotto. Also, I liked his outfit.

He was cute. End of song. That’s the album. It’s very basic in that way. It was important for me to make something not so meandering. It’s just straight ahead.

HJ How is that simplicity reflected in the musicality of the album?

SWF It gave me a lot of permission to play with the sonic palette. I love playing with different reverb effects, and delay, and having live instrumentation and electronic stuff together. So, we have guitar and piano and ambient things all going on.

HJ Is this paring back a result of leaving the hype of NYC for the beaches of LA? SWF Yes. I am definitely becoming a beach boy. I can’t lie. I’m also a lot more disciplined about working out and all of that. It’s a little cliché in that way but listen, that’s what I am on.

HJ Why call it Deacon, after the modest Christian church position?

SWF I’m thinking more-so about the energy of the deacon rather than the deacon himself. Typically, the men that I know are calm, self-possessed, peaceful.

Who knows peace more than the deacon?

That’s the energy I wanted to employ for the album.

HJ Your choral energies are still resonating throughout too.

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“It’s about not being sceptical when people are being caring and thoughtful. That’s the greatest lesson” SWF As long as I’m on this earth, I will always be a choir boy at heart.

That’s going to show up in my music, no matter what.

HJ Can we break down some lyrics.

I love ‘Hyacinth’ and the way it acquaints this flower to the ideal man: ‘But those who sleep with flower by their head / Wake up with a lover in their bed.’

SWF The hyacinth is such a beautiful plant. It’s my favourite plant. If you put one in your home, good lord the whole place smells of it, which I love. In Greek mythology, it is the name of a mortal that these two gods [Apollo and Zephyrus] were obsessed with. They both fought over this homeboy and killed him by mistake. And with the blood he shed, Apollo created a plant and called it Hyacinth. So, the story of the plant is very gay, which I didn’t

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know until later. Of course, my favourite plant is a gay plant.

When writing the song, one of my spiralling thoughts was about who, outside of your friends and family, would love you better than a plant in your home?

Maybe your blankets, or your sink faucet that sees you flossing and checking yourself out in the mirror. But also, your plant, it’s a delicate living thing that might know me pretty well. I want to know what it would be like if this fragrant flower turned into a full-grown man.

HJ On second single ‘Same Size Shoe’ you’re also on the subject of the type of man who fully understand you.

SWF He’s a guy that is not afraid to take up space and to fight for what he believes in. That’s the line – ‘Never seen fighters with lazy fists’. If you have strong politics, if you have conviction, if you are grounded in your blackness, you are going to show up in a certain way. It’s about loving Black men who are rooted in their feelings.

HJ And then on ‘Wood Boy’ we’re between the sheets. This is a song all about carnal pleasures.

SWF Yes. Absolutely. It’s in the chorus – ‘He’s stacking that wood / Just like he should / got my wood wood boy’. I intended for the song to be jubilant and jocular. When me and my friends are out, and one of us goes home with a guy, the next time we meet it’s ‘Okay you met that guy last week, we know he spent the night’. That’s the sort of levity I wanted to put in the song. It’s not super explicit but it’s colloquial and silly.

HJ We have two songs named after men – ‘Amir’ in DC who tells corny jokes and ‘Malik’ in Atlanta ‘who wears socks with his sandals’. Are these recollections of real-life encounters?

SWF These are fictitious.

HJ I’m disappointed.

SWF Sorry to burst your bubble but you won’t find these guys’ numbers on my phone. I wanted to write about those first beautiful moments when you meet someone. Amir is me meeting a guy and I’m just like, where do you live, are you vegan? I think we have a connection; can I take you out? So, the song is a bunch of, not pick-up lines, but just talking to someone and trying to get their number because you might not see them again.

HJ Are you good at chatting up guys?

SWF Um. Maybe. If I think I have a shot, I don’t mind approaching. I’m not shy that way. But if I don’t think they’d check for me, I just keep my body language open. I’m going to keep the antennae up as they say. It’s always that dance.

HJ What’s your best pick up line?

SWF I’ll go up and say ‘How you’re doing?’ I’m simple. I don’t have pick-up lines like the ones from the TV shows. Maybe I should learn some.

SWF Like, ‘Is your father a thief?’ That’s a good one.

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SWF What happens next?

HJ ‘Because he stole the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes.’

SWF I should try that actually.

HJ You should. It’s yours. And ‘Malik’?

SWF That’s about getting to a club and seeing someone and them seeing you as well. You’re still in the parking lot and it’s like, right, let me park this car, put money in the meter, get in line and get in there. That first 10 minutes of hoping he’s not here with his boyfriend.

HJ You don’t have to get liquored up to approach him?

SWF No, I have to be sober when I ask what his name is.

HJ What’s the most tender lyric on the album?

SWF It’s got to be the first line on ‘Old and Fine’ – ‘Love that you call everybody’s motha, mama’. I’m thinking about a very specific kind of Black man who doesn’t say ‘How you doing Miss Brenda?’, he says ‘How you mama Brenda?’ That’s the kind of thing my mother loves. That level of familiarity is the way to her heart. She’s going to be pudding. The guys I’m dating are thinking about what they are you going to call their partner’s mama. It’s really sweet, it warms my heart.

HJ Has your mum heard the album yet?

SWF She hasn’t.

HJ How come?

SWF She wants me to bring the physical vinyl to her, she wants me to sign it in front of her. She wants the pomp and circumstance. She doesn’t want a web link. It’s a whole thing, which I love, so I’ll do that for her.

HJ Glad to hear it. Do you break down the songs for her?

SWF No. She likes the drums and doesn’t think about the lyrics so much. On the last album ‘Messy’ was her favourite so I’m sure whatever song she likes is the one with the most drums.

HJ Where should the rest of us be listening to this album?

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(Above) Watch the video for SERPENTWITHFEET’S ‘FELLOWSHIP’. (Below) Watch the video for SERPENTWITHFEET'S ‘SAME SIZE SHOE’.

SWF I don’t want to dictate but I would suggest sitting on a comfortable rug with some floor pillows is one scenario.

If you have a patio or back yard that’s number two. Or riding in your car but it has to be a sunny day with the windows down.

HJ Would you recommend playing this album to seduce someone?

SWF Maybe. But I can’t guarantee you’ll have any luck. Start with ‘How are you?’ Then ‘Is your father is a thief?’ and if that doesn’t work, then play them this album.

HJ Finally, are you in love right now?

SWF Try to be! Try to be…

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The accomplished Kenyan poet shares two poems that come from places of love, melancholy and longing Words WANJERI GAKURU Photography MAGANGA MWAGOGO

NGWATILO MAWIYOO 16

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Ngwatilo Mawiyoo’s poetry centres the everyday. There is a palpable yet gentle insistence that we must face ourselves just as we are. Mawiyoo’s work shows how the regular can be valuable and joyful. Her first collection, Blue Mothertongue, was published in 2010 and her accolades include being shortlisted twice for Brunel University’s African Poetry Prize and nominated two times for the Pushcart Prize. The Kenyan creative has also enjoyed successful outings as a copywriter, editor, filmmaker and actor. Her ongoing writing project Witness & Dream explores the lived experience of diverse rural Kenyan communities. It has taken her to live with several families, each over a period of 10 days, and inspired her 2016 chapbook, Dagoretti Corner, edited by Chris Abani and Kwame Dawes.

For Nataal, Mawiyoo shares ‘Shell’ and ‘Dispatch’, poems redolent with ache and longing; seeking connection.

We speak to her about using her artform to move toward happiness in these uncertain times.

complicated to revisit old work in this time?

Has poetry come to have a new meaning for you?

NM These poems have definitely come to have new meaning, new resonances, if you will. Earlier in the pandemic was a tough time for me, in terms of sharing work, though I did try to be intentional about creating and crafting even then. In the period since, I’ve reconnected with the joy of having work out in the world, though not yet in a ‘live’ situation. I am planning to try that in an outdoor setting soon. We’ll see whether it feels workable.

WG Do you have anything planned down the road?

NM All of it. I’m working on putting out a chapbook of love poems this year, and also hopefully a sound and limited print series that celebrates and extends the impact of green public spaces. I’m keen on work focused on joy, and what’s beautiful and precious. It doesn’t mean that any of it is uncomplicated, but I want to go towards glee and delight.

Visit NGWATILO MAWIYOO here.

WANJERI GAKURU I n what ways do the poems you’ve shared with us speak to romanticism?

NGWATILO MAWIYOO I tried to select poems that came at ‘romanticism’ in different ways. I am not sure that there’s an aspect that they collectively speak to. ‘Dispatch’ is definitely about human touch. It’s about a person driven out of their comfort zone because of a loneliness they’ve been experiencing, as they wake from it and examine their state of mind. I know ‘Shell’ has a heaviness to it that some might resist right now.

For my part, as soon as I saw it, I knew it needed to be in the mix.

Now that I need to think about why, I think it’s because of this closeness between mother and daughter, the longing for a past moment (with the mom), a lost relationship (and betrayal) with the father – and at the heart of it, this remembered touch, repeated in time. It's a romanticism that is rife with melancholy. It has a bit of that sense of incomprehensible loss so many have experienced this past year, though clearly not specific to Covid-19 since touch is precisely what the virus has taken from how we experience our loved ones’ last moments.

WG What other work might these pieces be in conversation with?

And are they part of a larger body or work?

NM ‘Shell’ is in keeping with a different (for me) take on dying and grief, a theme I have been interested in for some years now. It first appeared in the Boston journal, Clarion. ‘Dispatch’ is part of a series or collection of love poems I am currently working on.

WG Was it particularly difficult or

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A poem by Ngwatilo Mawiyoo Dispatch

Morning, and springtime birds. I’m in a man’s bed, doing without sleep, without toothbrush, my cereal.

The man is utterly different from any other I have known. I watch the fishes on his arm, wait for their counsel, read the pink and orange flowers on his chest like tea leaves.

Disorientation must be the price, answer to my long craving for touch.

All night I’ve listened to his breath over my metronome, endured the light arpeggio, deep nasal crescendo of his interior passages.

How little I know myself. Did I also crave this rasping extension of touch?

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NGWATILO MAWIYOO

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A poem by Ngwatilo Mawiyoo Shell. After Daley

The last time I saw my father I watched him hold my mother, the palm of his hand covering her nape, four fingers lost in her afro, thumb in the hollow behind her ear.

And then he let her go, slid his fingers out the way he came— I didn’t see his face. I carry the moment of a hand on a nape, the arc of my mother’s back, how tall she stood then, limbs curved the angle of glee.

All I know is, while she lay dying, my own hand covered her nape; my hand, raw like the inside of a coconut after the soft meat is scraped.

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NGWATILO MAWIYOO

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ACCIDENTALLY ROMANTIC

Senegalese architect Mamy Tall finds the poetic romanticism that lives within her country’s built environment

A contemplation and film

by MAMY TALL 20

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In architecture, when it comes to romanticism, we talk about beauty, ideal, an architecture that expresses ideas and impressions that generate an emotional reaction and attempt to create an image of perfection.

Yet contrary to the idea of perfection from classical romanticism, the beauty of Senegalese romanticism is found in its imperfection.

In architecture, romanticism is expressed by the classical style of the plateau, which gives a charming side to the city despite the daily frenzy that we find there.

It can be found in the alleys of a neighbourhood like the Medina, bathed in the colours that cover its heavy historical past.

It can be found in the poetic expression of the buildings resulting from the asymmetrical parallelism, a theory of Léopold Sedar Senghor guided by rhythm and used in other artistic fields such as painting and music.

It can be found in the religious buildings that bring us together and that we are familiar with.

It can be found along the colourful streets of the two beauties that are Goree and St. Louis Islands. Over the years, the inhabitants have managed to appropriate an architecture resulting from colonialism, becoming a symbol of national pride.

PLAY Behind each door and each window, a different story. The stroll leaves free rein to our imagination to visualise these scenes of hidden romance.

We also (mostly) find romance in a 40-year-old house, a bit faded by time, where several generations of the same family live, the Senegalese dream.

When we talk about romance, we immediately hear love. This term has a modest interpretation in our society but is very present and manifested in other ways, by simple symbolic gestures.

With time and use, the space evolves and gives place to unique moments that we appreciate daily without realising it.

Imperfection becomes emotional because it is linked to the history of the place. Rooms in perpetual evolution in

(Above) Watch MAMY TALL’S poetic film for NATAAL revealing the “DAKAR INSIDE DAKAR” – the invisible beauty of SENEGAL'S capital. (Right and Opposite) TALL'S personal photography of interior and exterior scenes around her city.

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ACCIDENTALLY ROMANTIC

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a frozen space, from living room to dining room, from dining room to prayer room, from prayer room to sleeping room.

The laundry drying silently in the sun.

The living room where one never goes because it is reserved for big events, unique and common moments marked by the conviviality and habits of the inhabitants.

Finally, romance is expressed through street scenes, those frames that we see every day and that leave us indifferent.

Love has a particular expression in the streets, it is present but does not show itself. The singularity of its expression is manifested by the foundation of our culture, which is the Teranga.

The omnipresent brotherhood, the beauty of a couple in public showing more complicity than love, the respect of the elderly, the greetings between strangers, the familiar land-marks like the coffee vendor at the end of the street.

When time stops around us and we take the time to observe them, they allow us to understand our way of life, our traditions, our habits, all those elements that make us who we are. And Romance is definitely part of it.

FEATURE

Mamy Tall is a Senegalese architect, art director, photographer and co-founder of the LIVES series documenting life and culture in Dakar, Conakry, Bamako, Lomo and across Morocco.

Visit Mamy Tall here.

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ACCIDENTALLY ROMANTIC

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Hajer Ben Boubaker, founder of the Vintage Arab podcast, on the significance of Merzak Allouache’s seminal film

Words MIRIAM BOUTEBA

ODE TO OMAR GATLATO 28

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Scarred by the brutality of French occupation, and justifiably proud of the mujahadin forces who won the country’s war of independence (1954 – 1962), Algeria’s cultural output has often focussed on that period in its rich history. What makes Merzak Allouache’s 1976 film Omar Gatlato so special is that it's not a reaction to this trauma and it's a story without a hero. Soundtracked by the beautifully mournful composition of Ahmed Malek, this romantic comedy is centred around a protagonist played by Boualem Bennani who, speaking straight to camera, falls into the perfect, exalted state of unrequited love. His life is normal, mundane even, as we see him at the cinema and drinking with friends. Nothing much really happens and yet that is why it’s such a vital work.

The importance and rarity of this cult piece of cinema cannot be underestimated.

Its title has been borrowed for exhibition Waiting for Omar Gatlato and accompanying book Waiting for Omar Gatlato: A Survey of Contemporary Art from Algeria and Its Diaspora - curated and written respectively by Natasha Marie Llorens.

Recently on view at La Friche in Marseille under its French title, En Attendant Omar Gatlato, the work of 29 artists from Algeria and its diaspora were on show – all of which personal, focussed on the everyday and, crucially, completely removed from the national mythology.

En Attendant Omar Gatlato is also the title of a 1979 book published by Algerian feminist writer and lawyer Wassyla Tamzali, which explores the ways in which Algerian conceptual film has dealt with the process of decolonisation.

We talk to Hajer Ben Boubaker, Paris-based researcher and founder of

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the Vintage Arab podcast, who explains the importance of the film, how it tackles romance in such a distinct way and why it’s still relevant today.

“Omar Gatlato is something of a precursor to the relationships that exist today, thanks to social media. We get attached to people we don't know, with whom we communicate only by message, or sometimes not at all – we are captivated by what they share. Omar Gatlatlo spoke about the mystery of this type of attraction as early as the 1970s.

The protagonist is an anti-hero who looks like a lot of other guys, who doesn't have an exceptional background and who doesn't even dare talk to the girl he likes.

All this makes him very endearing.

I remember the opening scene very well, which is the moment Omar Gatlato introduces himself. It made me laugh a lot as I didn't expect him to address me and the audience.

Adopting codes and references that are anchored in the daily life of Algerians, the film is accessible and also offers glimpses of real-life in Algiers. There is the scene in the cinema, in the office showing us the world of work (and the presentation of his colleagues is very funny), in the stadium, and especially the moment when he recites chaabi poetry in the bar. It is almost an Algerian trope that we also find in raï songs: the man alone at the counter, who dreams or cries for love, thinks about his life, while drinking.

From an outsider’s perspective, given that I am Tunisian, I would say that there is something very banal about him, very normal. He claims to be super manly but spends his time daydreaming about love while listening to Chaabi – a genre of music which has always left room for expressing romantic feelings. As a big fan of Chaabi, I love him for that, because he is the guy who connects to his lover side, who feeds his imagination with Chaabi. This is a guy who admits that if he had been a woman he would have cried over the music in Indian films.

We can also see the lack of "normal" characters in Algerian films as a result of political will to put forward exceptional, heroic figures, that are stereotypically manly. Romantic comedy is not something that’s been sufficiently explored in the Maghreb but Omar Gatlato is probably one of the best Algerian comedies and really conveys the country’s sense of humour. Having this ordinary character to identify with is so important when most Algerian cinema centres around the heroism of Algerians during the war of independence.”

VINTAGE ARAB podcast celebrates ARAB MUSICAL HERITAGE. Discover it on Spotify here and listen to it on Soundcloud here. EN ATTENDANT OMAR GATLATO was on view at LA FRICHE, Marseille, Find out more here.

Listen to the music of OMAR GATLATO on HABIBI FUNK here. Thanks to SARAH BEN ROMDANE.

FEATURE

ODE TO OMAR GATLATO

29

I LOVE YOUR LOVE

FASHION

Photography OLIVIA LIFUNGULA Styling NATHAN KLEIN

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“Everybody has just been reminded that love is so important for all of us, whether it’s from friends, for family or toward strangers,” says Nathan Klein, reflecting on life during the global lockdown. “If people loved more there will be more change. Love isn’t simply what you say, it’s a call to action as well.” These sentiments, shared by so many today, were the springboard for this special cover story. The London-based stylist took the issue’s theme of ‘romanticism’ to create a shoot steeped in many forms of love.

Born and raised in London, Klein started out studying photography, media and design before finding his true medium of expression through styling. Inspired by nature and all things colourful and fantastical, he uses his talents to promote diversity and sustainability. His clients have included Carhartt, SSENSE, Kenzo and Off-White as well as titles such as Vogue, Dazed, Atmos and Luncheon.

For this project, Klein brought together a team he believes “represents a new generation of creatives” including photographer Olivia Lifungula, whose lens here has gracefully captured true intimacy between lovers, friends and families. Meanwhile Klein crafted the looks using Bianca Saunders’ SS21 collection. This young designer’s approach defies gender stereotypes to explore the most tender reaches of masculinity. “Bianca’s work brings a vulnerability to tailoring, there’s a lot of softness, colour and warmth,” Klein says.

To expand the mood further still, Klein also joined forces with DJ stephseeks to curate a Spotify playlist that will “take listeners to different places in their heart”. stephseeks is co-founder of Born n Bread, a south London-based DJ collective that centres Black voices and community through music, and founder of releasss, an event that offers people the space to focus on their mind and body wellness through sonic experiences. For Nataal, her choice of tracks present romance beyond the confinements of lust, sex and heart-break. “It’s sensual, reflective, nurturing and liberating, reminding listeners of the various ways we express love in ROMANTICISM BY song,” stephseeks tells us. “Press play and immerse yourself.”

DJ STEPHSEEKS

Listen here on Spotify.

(Previous & Opposite) LUIS wears shirt, tie and trousers by BIANCA SAUNDERS. MIGUEL wears shirt and trousers by BIANCA SAUNDERS.

BARBARA wears shirt by BIANCA SAUNDERS and jewellery by GOLDSALT. HARUNA wears shirt and shorts by BIANCA SAUNDERS and jewellery by GOLDSALT.

LUIS wears jacket and trousers by BIANCA SAUNDERS and hats by THE FASHION ARCHIVE LONDON. MIGUEL wears jacket and trousers by BIANCA SAUNDERS and hats by THE FASHION ARCHIVE LONDON. (Opposite) JENNIE wears coat and bag

by BIANCA SAUNDERS, jewellery her own. LENNIE wears shirt, waistcoat and scarf by BIANCA SAUNDERS.

ZION wears jacket and scarf by BIANCA SAUNDERS. Shoes by CAMPER

PENELOPE wears coat by BIANCA SAUNDERS and ring by GOLDSALT. ZION wears shirt by BIANCA SAUNDERS.

BARBARA wears jacket by BIANCA SAUNDERS and jewellery by GOLDSALT. HARUNA wears shirt by BIANCA SAUNDERS and jewellery by GOLDSALT.

(Opposite) BEVAN wears jumper and trousers by BIANCA SAUNDERS. RIVER wears scarf by BIANCA SAUNDERS

(Opposite) BEVAN wears jumper and trousers by BIANCA SAUNDERS. RIVER wears jumper by BIANCA SAUNDERS. FEVEN wears shirt and coat by BIANCA SAUNDERS, jewellery by GOLDSALT. HALO wears shirt by BIANCA SAUNDERS. Photography OLIVIA LIFUNGULA. Styling NATHAN KLEIN at CLM. Make-up MARY JANE GOTIDOC using MAKE UP FOREVER. Hair AMIDAT GIWA at BRYANT ARTISTS. Nails ALIYAH JOHNSON. Set design GABRIELLE OKE. Set mentoring ALICE ANDREWS at THE WALL GROUP. Casting TYTIAH BLAKE at UNIT C. Production AYESHA MARR. Photography assistance IRENE ARRAEZ and TENILLE FOSTER. Styling assistance ELENA SCANAGATTA. Hair assistance AVRELLE DELISSER and MURIEL COLE. Art direction assistance STEPHANIE KANE. Fashion BIANCA SAUNDERS. Jewellery GOLDSALT. Shoes CAMPER. Cast PENELOPE AKINDE, ZION AKINDE, LENNIE BALLACK and JENNIE WRIGHT, HARUNA AT FIRST LONDON, BARBRA BROADLEY, BEVAN AGYEMANG, FEVEN, HALO, RIVER, LUIS and MIGUEL CABRAL DE BARROS at CONTACT MODELS. Playlist curation STEPHSEEKS. Words BLESSING BORODE.

Styling NATHAN KLEIN