Hanna Bichler took on an almost impossible task - to develop not just the scenography of the picture from scratch, but to think through the believable history and geography of the utopian country with a detailed topographical map and exact dimensions of the completed and constructed buildings, which serve as the background for the plot of the large-scale action.
Of course, she did not act independently - Hanna had three hundred art directors, props, carpenters, sculptors and artists at her disposal, for whom she compiled a 500-page reference album, which she called the "Bible of Wakanda".
In order to find visual materials capable of inspiring everyone who worked on the scenography and style of a fantastic metropolis, Bichler studied the source material in the office - a series of original comics about the first black superhero, and then engaged in field research - she traveled for almost an hour in South Africa, Britain, and South Korea, meeting with architects, anthropologists, geologists in search of histories, locations, architectural objects, ornaments, fabrics and special color combinations.
Speaking about the result, Hanna emphasizes that "it's a strong mix of tradition and futurism, and the main driving idea behind the "bible" was the demand for the invention of original aesthetics - without a single sign of colonization."
Such a description of a fictional civilization exactly coincides with the definition of Afrofuturism - a whole philosophical trend (as well as an ideology and an artistic style) that appeared in the middle of the 1993th century. The term - everyone who is not lazy has already written about it - was introduced in XNUMX by Mark Derry, an American literary critic, in his essay devoted to the work of African-American fiction writers Octavia Butler and Samuel Dylan, who not only created utopian pictures of the future, but tried to conquer it has a place for African culture and traditions, not driven into the framework of European "white" mythology, which creates a feeling of secondaryness.
In her work, Hanna Bichler followed in the footsteps of a number of writers, artists and even Afrofuturist musicians, among whom there are names well known in our Palestine. Thus, elements of this artistic style can be seen in the videos of Michael Jackson and Beyoncé, Janelle Monae and TLC.
What is Afrofuturism?
First, these are dreams about the "golden age" of Africa of the past and its brilliant future, which will come thanks to new technologies. And after all, these dreams are far from the fruit of baseless fantasies. Remember at least the majestic mud brick buildings of the richest pre-colonial empire of Mali or the mysterious and no less impressive colossal stone concentric ruins of the ancient kingdom of Zimbabwe.
And as for fine arts, the incredible and unparalleled bronze of the Yoruba nation (modern Nigeria) eloquently testifies to the great past of the civilization of sub-equatorial Africa.
Brilliant antiquity and tragic colonial experience, the expectation of a better technological post-apocalyptic future, refracted through the prism of the culture of African tribes and multiplied by the search for a new cosmic family, could not but give birth to the shining phantom of Wakanda, the city of skyscrapers. Only these gigantic structures resemble rondavels in their shapes - the traditional round houses of the Bantu people in southern Africa.
Flowing organic lines and the futuristic style of Zaha Hadid had no less influence on the special architectural style of the imaginary metropolis.
Read more about Afrofuturism, its significance for mass culture and, of course, the architecture of Wakanda in the April issue of Pragmatika Media magazine.