Clothes of the Dead White Man / Where all Problems End 2018 Unpacked bales of aid clothing, dimensions variable
Clothes donated to charity and as aid for Africa mostly end up being sold at markets there. What isn’t bought in shops is, more often than not, sold to textile merchants, who then sort, grade and export the surplus garments – converting what began as donations into tradable goods. In countries like Ghana this has come at a cost, destroying the local textile manufacturing industry.
‘There’s a moment on magic where a gift turns into a commodity. Like many used items, on the surface second-hand clothes may appear to have very little value, but through the process of sorting and transporting – turning disorderly objects into an ordered commodity – they are reproduced as retailable assets.’ Clothing Poverty by Dr Andrew Brookes
The language of second-hand markets:
- Nigeria: ‘okirika’ (bend down boutique) or even ‘London clothes’
- Ghana: ‘obroni wawu’ (clothes of the dead white man)
- Zambia: ‘salaula’ (selecting from a bale by rummaging)
- Congo: ‘sola’ (to choose)
- Zimbabwe: ‘mupedzanhamo’ (where all problems end)
Kenya & Tanzania: ‘mitumba’ (bundles) or ‘kafa ulaya’ (clothes of the dead whites)