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Sharmaarke Adan - Geeki Maariidi

1950s Somali national football kit commemoration design

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Sweets as broken dates : Last Somali taped

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Soundscape

For my audio tape my work has been heavily influenced by Af maay gabaay culture

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Jonathan Hernández

Vulnerabilia (2 x 9), 2014

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Considered one of Germany’s leading artists, Olaf Nicolai takes on a range of conceptual themes, from political and cultural critiques to inquiries into human perception. A recurring subject is the aesthetic appropriation of nature by human culture and design, explored through mixed-media sculptures and images, as in his juxtaposition of plant forms with depictions of hand gestures in Italian Renaissance paintings. “Questions of form, moods, attitudes, and style are not just vain play with surfaces,” Nicolai has said. “They are questions of organizational forms of activities.” In his recent work Escalier du Chant (Staircase of Song) (2011), Nicolai took over the sweeping staircase of Munich’s modern art museum, Pinakothek der Moderne, for one Sunday of each month in 2011. Throughout the day, performers would sing the songs of 12 international contemporary composers—which addressed political issues that took place throughout that year—creating a new aesthetic context for the year’s political events.

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Christopher Kulendran Thomas

Kulendran Thomas and my work intersect in several intriguing ways, particularly in our exploration of cultural identity, globalization, and the fusion of different cultural elements within contemporary art and society.

Firstly, like Kulendran Thomas, I delve into the cultural and economic shifts within specific contexts. While Thomas investigates the post-civil war transformations in Sri Lanka, my focus lies on the intersection of Somali poetry and football, examining the cultural significance and economic implications within Somalia. Both of our practices engage with broader socio-political contexts and the impact of globalization on local cultures.

Additionally, Thomas critiques the easy-to-consume aesthetic formulas of contemporary art networks by juxtaposing artworks with consumer goods. Similarly, I depart from conventional approaches to football portrayal by integrating unique designs and fabrics that highlight the significance of football while engaging with Somali cultural symbols like the flag and the Af Maay language. This challenges simplistic or commodified representations of culture and sports.

Moreover, both of us integrate distinct cultural elements into our work. Thomas incorporates consumer goods and contemporary art, while I integrate Somali poetry, language, and cultural symbols into my exploration of football. This integration serves to deepen the understanding of cultural nuances and references within our respective works, resonating with broader themes of cultural identity and heritage.

Lastly, our practices prompt viewers to reflect on the complexities of globalization and the negotiation of cultural identity. Thomas's work raises questions of accountability and acknowledgment in the context of globalization, while my exploration of Somali poetry and football delves into themes of freedom, resilience, and the consequences of oppression or manipulation within the Somali context. Both practices invite viewers to consider the impact of global forces on local identities and the complexities of cultural exchange.

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Geek Mariidi

Shimbirte Guumow

Gob Linke Weil

Ye Medii Gohaaso

Gariir Goobegoobeyaaw

Guumow Medaassa

Gololis Le Laabi

Olden days

Settler (coloniser) bird

Was made to (look) noble

When she takes off (flies)

Lighting will strike (the bird)

This when (the settlers)

Will be (forced to return) or have their beds folded

The last line is a metaphor, golol means camping bed, Southern Somalis were also nomads and when you leave a place you take your bed with you

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Here is another I made inspo from a Brazilian Side Gremio who are once considered one of the most big clubs in Brazilian football clubs. I use the tricolour design.

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KGS 2004 training Inspo kit along side the Shani as it's known as famous drink that many Somalis drink at home and in the diaspora. It's a drink you can eat with any Somali dish or meal or just a drink you can whenever you thirsty or even peppered as well if you know what I mean. I feel like many people would relate to this kit all lot. It has proper nostalgia feeling into it. It's Suugonimonazation.

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Here is my design for the KGS Kit to reflect the colours of the state.

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KGS ( Known as Koonfor Galbeed in English as translated South West of Somalia ) in Koofur Orsy.

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Inspiration for the kit design was to commemorate 1973 image photographed in Mogadishu.

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Here is the design sample used before sending the fabric as you can see I wanted the kit design to resemble the time of 1951 Memorial.

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Did my first design of 1951 Memorial design

The process of using this fabric is called Polyester Spandex which I have decided to go for and I think it works well with the design.

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LeRoy Neiman

Soccer, 1980

The businessman says 'If I don't do it first, somebody else will.' The artist says 'If I don't do it first, nobody else will.'” - LeRoy Neiman American Impressionist Leroy Neiman taught us to cherish and memorialize the beauty in the fleeting moment. Known as the “Father of Sports Art,” and the “Chronicler of the Good Life” and the most widely recognized American sports and leisure artist in history, he had a journalistic sensibility that when combined with his artistic talent conveyed the essence of a moment. From the America’s Cup to the Super Bowl to the Kentucky Derby, to Muhammad Ali, to yachting on the French Riviera, Neiman not only painted it all, but painted it live. As journalist Joe Flower said in 1984, Neiman was always given “the best seat, with the best view, right up front with the owners, the movie stars, the high muckity-mucks. If that’s not good enough, he just wanders down to the dugouts, the benches on the sidelines, the dressing rooms.” Neiman’s energetic style vibrates with color. “His tones are vivid, jarring, and at times, gaudily biting; they explode in an effusion of reds, blues, pinks, greens, and yellows; they shimmer and dance across the surface plane,” wrote Malcom Lein of Neiman’s palette.