Eva Meyer and Eran Schaerf

In the Habit: A Set Piece [Wie gewohnt. Ein Versatzstück] (1997) reflects on the beginning of the collaboration between Eva Meyer and Eran Schaerf. In 1997, they used a grant from the travel company Neckermann to travel to Zanzibar and Mom- basa, bringing a few kangas with them in their luggage. They went in order to capture the unpredictability of the unknown and understand the ambivalent way in which this textile is used. Though they are an important means of communication, kangas aren’t solely “speaking” fabrics; they communicate differently to men and women, to colonialists and the colonized. Proverbs enter into dialogue with colorful, highly symbolic ornamentation, and have something to say to their surroundings.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, women sewed together tablecloths and leftover fabrics, fashioning them into patchwork-style rectangular cloths. Only in
the early twentieth century did the typical kanga design emerge: what we now recognize as a juxtaposition of text with brightly colored patterns. The sayings on the fabric were originally printed in Arabic, later in Swahili. Until the mid-twentieth century kangas were produced outside ofAfrica, in India, Europe, China and Japan. Local design and print production began during the 1950s. In the Habit: A Set Piece is a cinematic collage which superimposes onto, and intertwines the thoughts and visions of philosopher Eva Meyer with visual artist Eran Schaerf’s gaze, creating a third, singular body of work. A visual observation of text and architecture within public spaces allows a view into the trade histories of the two countries. Meyer and Schaerf reproduce, but they do not explain. They present diversity without constructing it, and in the same vein observe, without having come as an observer. It is these temporary gestures that conceal something whilst simultaneously opening it up. They bring themselves into the picture, without putting themselves in front of the camera. We follow the voice of Eva Meyer, who superimposes a text collage over the montage of images. We remain on the surface, collectively pondering the societal condition.