Remember that big tree,the home of Rafiki in the Lion King? That massive one tree in which amidst the canopy, he draws a picture of Simba on its bark? That tree is the Baobab, sultan of trees, and I have always been fascinated by it. I googled it for a proper picture, and brilliantly enough the description of the lucky pick below is actually: Rafiki’s_Baobab_Tree. Cool stuff.
There are nine known species of Baobab among the genus of Adansonia. Two of them are native to mainland Africa, where I was first introduced to them. They are absolutely beautiful and can grow to impressive measures. One of its typical features is its very wide trunk, which can reach widths up to 11 meters.
When we were once traveling through Mali, West-Africa, we stopped to take a break alongside these trees. I would have been five or six years old. My father told me that there are special cases of Boabab which had trunks so wide, that people built cafés or restaurants in them. My impressionable young mind at the time was really amazed by this. It has been something that I never forgot. Later when I am old and rich (right..) I plan on opening my own bar into a Baobab tree. Inside I would hang a sign “welcome to my BaoBar“. Aim for the stars, right..?
Sometimes the Baobab is referred to as the upside-down tree. Because often the trees leaves are absent, its diffusing branches resemble roots grasping for the sky, giving it an upside-down appearance. To me the Baobab symbolizes Africa, a strong solemn feature, towering over the arid lands with vast horizons.
Somewhere in 2015 I was somehow reminded of its beauty and the thought occurred to me that It would be great to have a poster or large scale photograph of the Baobab to decorate my interior. I have a thing for black-and white photography and had the idea of combining the two. I went searching on the all-enabling world wide web. Unfortunately and to my surprise, I could not find anything that met my requirements. So I decided to make the poster myself. Fortunately I did find a mysterious looking representation that served my idea well and started re-creating the picture with charcoal on a large format paper.
Trying to capture the progress, I snapped the attached pictures of the re-creation process. Drawing this beast took me the solid part of the day, but in the end the result was there, ready to be put up on the wall.
Fimani – Habib Koité
