Walking on Water: Hassan Musa & Michael Armitage

Sudanese-born French artist Hassan Musa creates images with a multiplicity of references including European painting, Arabic calligraphy and Chinese watercolour. As a painter, calligrapher, illustrator, tapestry and performance artist, his work is characterised by endowing traditional painting techniques with new meanings.

Kenyan-born artist Michael Armitage deals with the social and political issues facing our contemporary global society. By weaving multiple narratives, drawn from the media and his native country's mythologies, Armitage strives to emphasise the universal social problems that many choose to deny.

In this live painting performance, Hassan will be creating a brand-new artwork titled 'Walking on Water' over a large canvas covering the stage, following a presentation by Michael Armitage, and finishing with a Q&A chaired by Africa Fashion curator, Christine Checinska.

This special evening forms the finale of our ‘Africa Fashion Expanded’ series in collaboration with SOAS.

THE WATER WALK
When I was a young Jedi, I fed the multitude.
The world trade organization accused me of anti-competitive behaviour.
They sent an army of bounty hunters after me. I ran away.
When I reached the Red Sea, I parted the water with a magic stick and I crossed on dry ground until the other bank.
There, I turned back and saw the Pharaoh and his soldiers drowning in the Red Sea.
À few days after, the Arab League accused me of non respect of immigration regulations. I became an illegal migrant.
The immigration police was pursuing me, I ran north and reached the White Sea.
There, I tried to parten the waters but the stick trick did not work.
I had to walk on water. So I did.
When I reached the Lampedusa coast, the Roman coastguards arrested me for illegal walk on water.
I asked for political asylum but they pushed me back to the Turkish boarders.
I waited one year and I settled near the Black Sea.
I am working hard trying to learn how to walk on Black waters