The shop art of Benin

Although modern forms of art and design are being used more and more, the traditional hand painted signs for shops are still common in much of Africa. Benin has largely retained the distinctly African style of commercial shop painting developed during the last century, whereas in Ivory Coast for example, you see a lot more work that seeks to portray people and objects in an overtly realistic fashion, as is more typical in the West.

Although some would describe the African styles as crude or even primitive, which can be true up to a point, it doesn’t really reflect the long historical and cultural traditions that led to this point. Artists in the region had mastered representative art of the human form before the arrival of Europeans, as works such as the great Bronze Heads of Ife testify. However, religious art, the most common form of artistic expression, has always been much more about capturing the spirit of something, than being a literal depiction. We need to appreciate here that firstly, religion and culture are intimately entwined. African spirituality creates a complex worldview that can often remain largely intact even after an individual’s conversion to Islam or Christianity for example. Secondly, the concept of the spirit is not some nebulous, distant notion: the spirit world is very real and easily crosses into the here and now for many Africans.

Whilst shop art is obviously not concerned directly with these more lofty ideas, it does have this cultural history behind it, and that includes western influences, but it should not be seen as poor attempts at making accurate representations of people and objects. The artists aren’t trying to achieve the same thing as their western counterparts. Of course, like all trades there are those that are more skilled than others and some who probably ought to be employed in something more suited to their abilities but that’s no reason to not celebrate their efforts.

Hair salons are the one type of business that are almost obliged to have a hand painted signs. Originally one of the main functions of using an image was to advertise the services to the illiterate but this is far less essential these days, where the majority receive at least some schooling.

It is common to see completely unrelated services and products on offer in one business. You can’t afford to turn down potential income streams for the sake of presenting a coherent, corporate marketing strategy. So, along with hair styling this place offers yoghurt, ice and lemon juice.

For some reason I’ve yet to ascertain, it is usual to provide gift wrapping services at hair salons, as indicated by the packages on these three signs.

As with the large, commercial side of the beauty industry and media in much of Africa, light skin is presented as an ideal. West Africans are generally fairly dark skinned, particularly in the more northern regions where these signs are from.  Even in the coastal, capital cities, where you see a wider variety of skin tones, the kind of light skin represented in these  images only applies to a small fraction of the women you’ll see in public. Probably little more than 5% at most in my estimation.

Men’s barbers do use hand painted images, although they’re usually simpler than the women’s ones so not always as interesting, but this one is more stylish than most.

Art has to move with the times as we can see with this computer gaming room.

This shop providing digital media services is another good example of how traditional techniques are evolving to suit modern businesses.

Not all approaches to using traditional styles in a modern context are as successful as others, as this “Computing for all” business demonstrates.

Even graffiti styling can be incorporated into works.

Pounded yam restaurants are more likely to use signs to advertise their menu than most eateries, perhaps simply because it’s easier to illustrate than the other starchy splodges on offer. Meals are commonly defined by this basic part of the meal, rather than say the meat or sauce we would regard as the key descriptive element. Many little restaurants specialise in one such dish, with little or no choice but a with a guarantee that they will have honed it down to a fine art. Signs like this are a good indicator that what’s on offer will be tasty.

Low wages and intense competition mean that tailored clothing is within the reach of many family budgets, not the preserve of the wealthy, as it is in the West. It is common to purchase your preferred material in the market and take it to a local seamstresses like these, to get measured up for something to your exact requirements. You will often see a group of children from one family all kitted out in matching outfits. Western style clothes are certainly popular but more typically African clothes are still a big part of the market in Benin, thanks to the multitude of little businesses like these two.