What the f*ck is up with Ye & Gap?

Sep 29, 2022 | Fashion, Music, Community

There have been many eras of Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) – and since the early 2000s, he has come to define the coveted pivot from behind-the-scenes producer, to front-facing superstar. Genius – ‘Jeen-Yuhs’ – is the preferred caveat attached to Ye’s persona by fans, and ‘crazy’ the preferred caveat by most others. I will refrain from using the latter, for reasons regarding his mental health diagnosis – and because the term itself also feels like a lazily ascribed attribute in place of a far more complex array of variables. Ye is a difficult person to hold any fixed opinions on – the more I researched his last few eras, the more I found myself deeply contrasted in holding any sort of view. 

Loathing his association with Trump, or his all-too-conversative beliefs arising from his Christian faith with America as its backdrop, set against his with-out-question contribution to fashion, the earnest spirit behind Sunday Service (beyond the messianic energy it initially portrayed) – mixed feelings appear to be the perspective most people have on Ye. This is perhaps the entire meaning behind Ye as the pop, hip hop and fashion cultural monolith we know today – and the collective journey we, as cultural consumers, have been in witnessing his every mood and viewpoint. Every great figure has to maintain an air of the unknowable about them, to keep in place the seduction of their character – sometimes I wonder if Ye is, above all else, a master of marketing; flagrantly and formidably yielding an arsenal of Jedi mind tricks on us all. We lap it up, no doubt.

Lately, the news cycle has been awash with Ye’s controversial method of expressing his thoughts & feelings – yes, there’s the ‘Skete’ saga, and his equal parts punishing and pining Kim for us all to see, all screenshots and receipts on his Instagram, but more interestingly – and relating to his vision – is the total breakdown of his relationships with adidas and Gap. The first, adidas, has been Yeezy’s partner for years – with Ye expressing time and time again that they provided the full-scale infrastructure to realise his sartorial expression. One wonders though, how Ye’s single desire to reshape streetwear (and luxury) could ever have truly manifested constricted by the red tape such conglomerates, by nature and function, exist under. Nevertheless, if anyone was cut out to do it – it was going to be Ye, uniquely situated with a varied fanbase – from the hypebeast footsoldier – to other ranks alike.

In his conversation with Linsey Davis for ABC News, Ye is asked why he would want to end a 10-year, highly lucrative deal with Gap and adidas, to which he says, “It’s those nuances where people act like they’re your daddy. They purposefully didn’t open the stores that they were supposed to – how am I born in Atlanta, yet there’s no store in Atlanta? How am I from Chicago, and there’s not a store in Chicago? That means that I was there for some specific agenda – not for Yeezy Gap to be everything I saw it could be, or the dream that I had. It’s time for me to make my own thing. I have respect and love for the Fisher family – that’s their thing and that’s their daddy’s thing. They made something great, and it inspired me – and now I need to make something great that will inspire the next me…if there ever will be.” He goes on to say, “We really had to level up and show ‘em who’s the new boss. I’m the boss. I’m no longer the mascot in the middle of the game, getting everyone hyped up to ‘wear this’ or ‘do this.’ I need to learn how to really run a company. You know, I had this new year’s resolution that I was only gonna talk to people who listen to me.” In between these very real sentiments – the powerlessness of working with companies as big as adidas and Gap – are also Ye’s allusions to his misunderstood persona. That his life’s work IS altruistic, IS meaningful and for the people. Interestingly, when challenged by Linsey as to whether Yeezy could ever be accessible price-wise – he says, customers will be able to spend $20 and get four shirts in the future.

With all this said, there’s the actual question of the YEEZY GAP collaboration. When it launched at the GAP New York store – audiences were stunned at the trash-bag installations, filled with the actual collection. In a odd, Demna-esque style – this supposed ‘hope for the masses’ was delivered as a striking offence on the harrowing class disparity between Ye and his followers – and whether this was thought-through, Jake Silbert at Highsnobiety wrote it best, “A generous consideration of Ye’s YEEZY GAP presentation circumstances might posit that by distributing utilitarian garments in a no-nonsense, celebratory manner, Ye and former YEEZY GAP partner Demna might be evening the playing field, reframing luxury garments as pragmatic clothing to be worn every day, by everyone. A less generous take might suggest that the indignity of being forced to dig through a dumpster full of discarded hoodies is itself egregious, let alone the fact that the hoodies cost $240 apiece.” This inspiration by Ye from homeless people stands in direct contrast with his own work – or lackthereof – from the now defunct YEEZY HOME SHELTERS – to the still-to-be-determined clothing collaboration with folks at Skid Row, Los Angeles. 

It remains important to remember that for all the dreams and intentions of Ye, he is a billionaire – and alongside his ex wife’s family, he is a symbol of capitalism in a way that he might never be able to escape, least not acknowledge.

As it stands, Gap and Yeezy have ended their partnership. Projected to bring in $990 million in sales each year, for the next decade. After being served a letter by Ye, Gap are accused of breaching the contract – and once again, we witness the machine at war with itself. Via a New York Times piece, Gaps statement reads “While we share a vision of bringing high-quality, trend-forward, utilitarian design to all people through unique omni experiences with Yeezy Gap, how we work together to deliver this vision is not aligned,” the Gap brand president, Mark Breitbard, wrote. “And we are deciding to wind down the partnership.”

In the meantime, Ye is focused on Donda Academy – his private, Christian school designed to educate kids in the ‘post-iPhone-era’  – and comparing Kim to the Queen, in a hilarious post reading: “London, I know how you feel. I lost my queen too.”

Ye will be Ye.

Written by: Holly Bell Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Interlude Chapter 09 | Recycling, Upcycling and Circular Thinking in South African Fashion

Sep 28, 2022 | Fashion, Interlude

It’s no longer a question that our consumption habits – particularly around fashion – have veered to the point of crisis. If not beyond it. Driven by the exploitative, resource extractive economic model that governs the world, with all its variations of class divisions and constriction, linear supply chains across the board from luxury, to mid-level and fast fashion, find themselves trapped in a design to disposal model. Amassing unnerving amounts of waste and pollution along the way – by the time garments arrive to us, the consumer, it has been through the hands of people bound to a system from which they derive little respect or value – least not something as opulent as basic, living wage. The growing sustainability movements (I prefer ‘conscious’ because what are we sustaining?) around the fashion industry is predicated on social change as much ecological consideration; the two inform each other; as human beings need to be valued, protected, and in turn the ingenuity of our ability to problem solve and collaborate is nurtured and brought into the world. As an antidote to the entrenched linear models that we consume under, the phrase ‘circularity thinking’ has been defined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as eliminate (waste & pollution), circulate (products & materials) and regenerate (nature). Closing the supply chain from a straight-line, to a closed circle, whether it’s through recycling materials and reselling, is detailed by Weavabel as; “The ‘design out’ waste process focuses on taking waste and emissions into consideration at the very beginning of the fashion process, during the design stage. By thinking about using responsibly sourced materials and sustainable manufacturing techniques at the beginning of the process, you’re already addressing the issue of waste rather than trying to reverse the effects further down the lifecycle. Concepts such as zero-waste fashion, using eco-friendly dyes, bio-based fibres and sustainable packaging all minimise the amount of waste created by the fashion supply chain.”

This brings us to our 9th edition of Interlude – an ode to recycling, upcycling and circular thinking – as lensed through a myriad of incredible South African brands and initiatives that are shaping the future of design-thinking, systems and understanding. It may seem like a trope, but as consumers – and lovers of design & fashion – we have a shared responsibility to grow these spaces through our participation, and particularly our pennies.

Recycling 

When I think of recycling in South African fashion – the thought always begins with Rewoven – the leaders of recycling textiles in the country. Founded by Tshepo Bhengu, Esethu Cenga and Lonwabo Mgoduso in 2018, their model re-imagines textile waste through entrepreneurial, technological based methods – primarily centred in revitalising a localised textile trade in an inclusive, ethical and sustainable system. Rewoven offers a textile recycling service including off-cut fabrics, end of roll fabric, unsold inventory, rejected garments – and across a myriad of textiles such as denim, calico, fleece, 100% polyester and more. Diverting textile waste is an essential in applying circular thinking, and the Rewoven team remains at the forefront of driving this vision in Africa. They’re also behind yearly sustainability indaba – Future of Fashion – and attending it has been a beacon of hope. With master-classes, design showcases, panel discussions; FoF is a critical event for anyone aligned to the solutions occurring on the continent. 

As always, we adore nuun concept space – mother + son duo, Zainab and Shaheed are experimental designers and innovators, who have quietly been disrupting the ways in which textile composition and bio-material packaging can exist, right now, within the South African design lexicon. Their staple piece, ‘the nuun T-shirt’ is a perfectly fitted, 65% recycled pet (6x 500ml plastic bottles collected in Cape Town) and 35% bio-cotton – and available to order in bulk, as the perfect blanks for other brands testing or putting out graphics or prints. The first adaptation of their t-shirt is ‘nuun t-shirt for peace’ – to which their website states, “a design error placed where the heart is located as a symbol of the oppressed. For our first initiative, we have decided to use the proceeds generated from  our ‘error’ t-shirt to spread love and hope to those who desperately need it. For every six t-shirts sold, an olive tree will be planted in palestine. the tree is the main source of livelihood for the palestinian people as it provides medicine, food and oil.” This incredible balance between taking back waste from the earth and then regenerating it, as part of their brand offering, is something quite special – and showcases the altruistic, heart-centred possibilities of circularity through compassion.

Upcycling

We’ve all seen it – designer Alexa Schempers unreal, unfiltered contribution to South African Design with her brand, Rethread. Blazers, partitioned into the cleanest set, styled to perfection, sometimes with delicate beading, or jeans pulled apart and reshaped? Alexa’s passion for upcycling and vintage has not only become a successful brand, but her Tik Tok presence feels like a ‘best-kept-secrets’ of thrifting in the country – alongside her earnest commentary to followers around price-points and transparency, Alexa exemplifies a young designer abandoning the rules and making something so critical and beautiful. 

UBEYOU is a gender-neutral, Cape Town based brand – situated in the realm between streetwear and workwear. Their brightly coloured fabrics and fluid silhouettes are inclusive, and thoughtfully made – and better yet? Their website has the following manifesto, “We source our fabrics locally, all based in Cape Town. We use Dead stock and end-of-roll in our design which means waste material gets turned into limited edition garments. It is important for us to use material that already exists because we know that waste is one of the biggest issues in the fashion industry. We try to use leftover fabrics from previous collections when creating new designs. We also incorporate up-cycled, second-hand clothing to turn something old into something new. We do not throw away any leftover fabric. Everything is kept and eventually used in new garments. Our business is very small and we intentionally don’t produce in bulk which means our energy impact is as minimal as it can be.” This is the future of fashion. 

Locally produced footwear remains a smaller industry than clothing – but disruptors like Amble are changing that. Made-to-order, chicer-than-chic, leather shoes made from upcycled leather by a skilled artisan showcase effortlessly, and in perfect motion, circularity-led thinking in fashion. In a world where shoes can be discarded with every season, Amble provides a study on mindful consumption & slow living – shoes with a purpose. Divine. In the realm of upcycling – once upon a time, at the inaugural Future of Fashion (2019) mentioned previously in this article – each guest received a plasticity pouch. The material, each unique, is owed to the brand’s dedication to upcycling plastic waste into accessories and objects. Hand-made by a mother and daughter duo, with their small team, in the Karoo – plasticity pieces range from colour to monochrome, essential for any occasion, and perfect for any person.

Circular Initiatives  

No commentary on sustainability in South African fashion would be complete without mentioning the work of Twyg– a publication and space founded by fashion industry veteran, Jackie May, and the foremost home for sustainability in the country and across the continent, as it happens. Known for their annual Twyg Awards – I’d like to highlight their swap&mend initiative, a treasure in the city that shares and encourages the spirit of clothing swaps, and caring for one’s wardrobe. The communal event takes place once a month at Nude Food, and is a total gem in local networking and skill sharing within mindful, conscious fashion. Another notable space working to redirect clothing from landfill are the homies at Lemkus, in collaboration with Room Studio – their clothing drive ‘Room For Good’ has sent out a call to their community, to bring in clean, wearable and pre loved clothing and stand a chance to win a once off, upcycled piece. The initiative states, “The Room for Good project aims to tackle sustainability & socio economic issues through reframing how we as individuals can affect change and contribute positively to our communities. The inaugural project is a new take on a clothing drive, which encourages community members to donate old wearable items of clothing or footwear in aid of helping provide clothes and shoes to our community of homeless people in inner-city Cape Town.”  The drive is on until the 5th of October – to  be dropped off in store at Lemkus, St Georges Mall.

Written by: Holly Bell Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Patience & Sensitivity in the Creative Process with Filmmaker and Photographer Hana Sho

Sep 23, 2022 | Interviews, Creatives

Alongside, or within, the process of a creative person’s growth – is another kind of growth, one that is perhaps the kindling for their work throughout their career. It seems like a trope, but it really is the truth; creatives are sensitive beings, with vast inner realities who spend a lifetime being communicated or translated into a language for the world. More and more, we witness the rise of ‘multidisciplinarity’ in the artistic landscape, in which creatives are able to reach out to the world through multiple mediums, each informing their wider vision. Hana Sho is one such artist – who is primarily known as a photographer and filmmaker – for whom, the aforementioned process has been an innate thread in her experience since she was younger. There are not many people who, in high school, were identified by Puma & sent sneakers to conceptualise a series of images; this being one of the first moments, amidst the constraints of the obsolete, traditional schooling system, that Hana realised her creative viewpoint could really begin to mean something in this world. Now, as one of the leading image-makers in the country, with an emphasis on movement (film), Hana is bridging her grunge-infused, underground style with our shifting commercial landscape. South Africa’s stylistic motivations from film, to TV, commercials and across industries is levelling up.

“When I was very little, I wanted to be an animator. I was completely obsessed with drawings, figures and comics – and then I discovered if I could take photos of something, I could tell a story. So I’d take photos, print them – cut them out and make little stories and collages. I was really lucky in that I grew up in a creative household, where that was really encouraged. As I got older, in high school, I used to make these awful videos – really terrible – of my friends for their birthdays. I just loved the idea of having this footage that told a story, that also meant something. Even though I had no idea at 14 that this could be a career – I knew then that this was something I could do that was special and meaningful, and my way of communicating what I see the world.” Hana reflects on her earliest memories of image-making; and tells me that it’s through a camera that she has learned to understand the best, and that there are things people reveal somewhere between her, the camera and themselves; things that they don’t usually display in the everyday movement of their lives. Regarding her skillset, Hana says, “I’m self-taught – endless hours on Youtube, or learning how a camera works. I can thank the internet for the kind of information that I needed to get better. I became very interested in portraiture. I’m quite a sensitive person, and I need quite a lot to understand someone – and portraits have given me a really beautiful way to see or read people. As intuitive as I think I am, a lot of my photography is really just that process of fascination with people and the world.”

Hana credits her formative years to legendary Cape Town teacher – Andrew Putter. My eldest brother was one of his students when he taught design at Rondebosch Boys High School, and who is held in the highest regard by local creatives who, under Andrew’s guidance and tutelage, have gone on to amass incredible careers. Andrew’s extramural space, Putter School, remains an intrinsic hub for continuing to seed the dreams of creatives from as early on as possible. Hana explains, “In my matric year, I attended Putter School – and it was so, so mind boggling and shaping. It broke every idea I had previously held, and had a huge impact on me. It’s so wild, Andrew must have impacted three generations of creatives.” Now, Hana is established – and she has found immense joy in venturing into the commercial space, having shot for Puma Selects, Rich Mnisi, and a variety of campaigns and editorials. Within commercial spaces, the pursuit of perfection – and conveying almost caricature like ideals through marketing – is a space in which Hana thrives as a kind of antidote; rather, lending her sub-cultural, grunge-esque style to previously modular creative conceptualisation, to this she says, “I like the mundane, and I’m intrigued by small, weird human nuances – things that are off, or not quite right, and mistakes. I like imperfection, and the beauty of that. As I get more and more into the film & advertising space, I’m trying not to lose that sensibility. I always want to be experimental and strange, and those are the roots of where I come from as an artist. I have to remember playfulness, and embracing weirdness and seeing how I can express that in a way that other people connect to. Whatever you can create with what you have is important, the medium just carries a story, which is the most important part.” In a world of strengthening awareness and intelligence among audiences and ‘consumers’, this is a vital quality for Hana to possess; our generations require authenticity, and can spot the illusions a mile away.

Hana has some new work coming out soon – although you’ll have to wait until they’re released, and the quietness she’s had online is a result of bringing these projects into being. Hana explains, “A big thing that I’ve learned is to be patient in the learning process, and sometimes you just want to make things – put them out – and repeat that. The world also demands hyper-productivity and novelty from creatives, but the last year has taught me to reflect – and possibly to integrate – rather than being so fast in what I do. There’s such importance in being patient, and taking in & learning. We don’t have to be reaching for the next thing, and the solid building blocks will be the foundation.” 

Hana Sho is a tender being – and conversations like this, with the energy of contemplation and gentleness, are poignant reminders of the deep voices behind some of the country’s most beloved artists. Keep Hana’s work on your radar – it’s most certainly only the beginning.

Written by: Holly Bell Beaton
For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Stanislaw Trzebinski’s Solastalgia at Southern Guild Gallery : Biological Terraforming on a Post-Devastated Planet

Sep 22, 2022 | Art

“Southern Guild presents Solastalgia, multidisciplinary artist Stanislaw Trzebinski’s second solo exhibition with the gallery, opening 8 September (until 10 November). The featured body of functional sculpture and artwork explores a dark vision of nature’s continuation after the extinction of man. In the current state of climate alarm, Trzebinski expresses a grief for what has already been lost to man’s rapacious self-interest.

“I’ve been experiencing what environmental philosopher and sustainability professor Glenn A. Albrecht calls solastalgia,” he explains, “a nostalgia for the loss of places that used to give me solace – that made me feel fully human. Our very home, the Earth, is being ruined, despoiled. So much is already lost, and I’m homesick in my own home.” – southernguild.co.za

Entering Southern Guild Gallery’s spatial location – high ceilings and wide walls, as the perfect canvas for its rotation of shows – feels slightly different this time. To the right handside, the area has been carved out for sculptor and artist Stanislaw Trzebinski’s second show exhibition: Solastalgia. The space is expanded, fitted with pastel interior walls in powder blue, lilac, soft-pink and mint; colours that gently coax the senses, lulling one to edge closer. This juxtaposition is intentional – because what awaits, is an eerie, fascinating collection of pieces reflecting a much more insidious theme – the pastels do well to prime one for the confrontation.

Stanislaw is deeply concerned with the ecological devastation heading our way. In fact, it’s already here; and who knows how quickly the fabric of nature as we know it, will dissolve around us? Imagining a future of apocalyptic proportions is one thing – but for the artist, these works imagine the aftermath. We, human beings, are no more; in fact, all that has survived is the resilient ubiquity of bacteria and fungi; this time, with far stranger replication and production processes, possibly spurred on by vastly different conditions for evolution on earth, than we might know today. The show notes say it best, “acid-tolerant amoeba, burrowing cave dwellers, giant carnivorous mushrooms sheathed in fungal, porous skirts. The organisms have been borne of biological necessity, shedding their own layers of being and seizing only what is needed to survive.” I am a dreamer of what life might look like at other ends of the cosmos, and so despite the harrowing timeline that would occur to arrive at these life-forms; I find myself totally taken with this narrative; and in fact, oddly invigorated. The existential dread of our own existence as human beings is perhaps a fate already sealed – but Solastalgia is a stunning alchemization of the triumph of life – with or without us. It is worth remembering how enriching nature is, and how our presence in this temporal fraction of the universe’s lifespan is quite an exceptional miracle; no matter how that will end, or when. More and more, the artist’s role in the world is to be the revealers of our ecological truths; whether for activism or imaginative purposes, and Stolastalgia cuts an exceptional balance of both.

The works are a poignant reflection of adaptability – and the utter strangeness and beauty of living organisms – alongside Trzebinski’s own inner-adaptability in his practice, blending together his mastery of bronze-casting alongside a foray into a new medium of glass-blowing; rigid materials make porous, growing forms – as if one closes their eyes and entered a kaleidoscopic. Each piece is thoughtfully, brilliantly named – Humongous Fungus, Doomsday Prepper, Neo-Primordial Soup – a few such names, the rest I urge you to view directly; as ever, Southern Guild hosts some of the most compelling work Africa has to offer. 

View at Southern Guild Gallery, Cape Town: 08.09.2022 – 10.11.2022

Written by: Holly Bell Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

A New Era for Kaapstad’s Original Label, TWOBOP

Sep 21, 2022 | Interviews, Fashion

There’s a feeling in the air – a strange sort of tension, in which ‘possibilities’ feel more opportune and accessible than we have had in over two years. Ahead of us lies the first summer since the pandemic seeped into our lives, in which there is a sense of security in the future. Security and assurance are often attachments of the self; but in this case, in relation to South Africa’s creative future, a full embrace feels almost essential. In the last few weeks, it has become publicly known that TWOBOP is relaunching; Cape Town’s most formative and beloved streetwear brand since 2004, that quite literally set the tone for culture and fashion in the city, until it tapered down – quietly, with only murmurings of why – around 2019. Founder and originator of the brand, Anthony Smith, had moved to Vancouver – and with him, the future of TWOBOP lay in wait. It’s hard to describe the full impact of what Anthony founded nearly two decades ago. Here, in our coastal town, his vision for locally produced streetwear was taking place before streetwear as we know it today had swept the globe. Internationally, Ye was putting out The College Dropout – Yeezy was perhaps still a blip in his consciousness – and the parallels between skateboarding, surfing, hip hop and street art were still being woven together, to later become a unified banner under which ‘streetwear’ is housed, as experienced today. 

In 2004, there was no Tumblr – no Youtube or Facebook – and certainly no Instagram. Can we imagine, then, where Anthony founded TWOBOP’S inception, if not from what surrounded him immediately or digitally? In later years, Tumblr would become a digital vision board for the brand, alongside the story as it unfolded into the local fashion lexicon: TWOBOP was the manifestation of Anthony’s will to see his experience and community represented sartorially, beginning as an reference to his childhood in the late ‘80s, enamoured with video arcade and the use of ‘twobop’ (20 cents) to spend hours in immersed in this new, pixelated frontier – now, a truly vintage tech in 2022. This is about as authentic as a brand story will ever be; and a founding caveat that is so deep, it is now the foundation for almost every sincere brand we know of. Human beings build and create in order to see their essence reflected around them; there is perhaps no greater or more noble path in that sense. Now, TWOBOP is making its mark in the third decade of its existence; a surreal thing to note, considering how this century has felt like one long, continuation with the gaps in our cultural consciousness growing narrower each year.

Sitting in Origin in De Waterkant, CEC met the new custodians & owners of TWOBOP: animated, passionate and open; husband and wife duo, Mario Ogle and Eden Myrrh. Having been entrusted with the entire future of the brand; the only two people, for Anthony, that he could imagine TWOBOP’s legacy being invigorated by for a new era. Interestingly, Mario and Eden are not from Cape Town; and this is perhaps one of their greatest strengths, aside from their innate creative and entrepreneurial talents respectively. This is a small city – with a reputation for closed-circles, and sometimes noted for people’s hunger for their proximity to clout, than arborists of culture. There is also unspoken tension around a seeming vacuum that was left in local streetwear when the iconic Corner Store closed its doors and its various brands & designers splintered off in varying directions; still, it is a space that remains important in the story of streetwear culture in Cape Town. With Mario and Eden at the helm, though, none of this really matters; theirs is a fresh perspective, and a personal one too. With Eden having worked at Corner Store, she understands the brand from its golden years – and for them both, the vision is to strip back TWOBOP to its most critical function; as a vessel for creative expression and community wellbeing.

Mario and Eden had been working with Anthony, and independently began to think that perhaps there was something bigger there for them to do within the brand – and not just from their vantage point with their agency, Msizi. In a moment underpinned by synchronicity – Anthony suggested it first, asking them if they would be interested in taking on TWOBOP’s future. This was mid pandemic in 2020, and Eden goes on to explain the last two years of seeding the transfer of guardianship from Anthony to them, “We have been digging deep into putting seamless and feasible business structures in place. That’s where my creative flow is derived from; functionality, and making things really work. I think this was something so many creatives struggled to balance in the early years of pivoting their talent or vision into a business: we are so often told that creativity and business are exclusive of each other, when in fact both have to function together. It’s non-negotiable. One of our biggest building-blocks for TWOBOP’s relaunch is how it will reinvest it back into the community; providing jobs for the mums who make the garments, and honing in on local production. We want to highlight Woodstock once again, for what it means to the brand’s past but also what the future can hold.“ Mario follows on, further elucidating the core of their vision, “I’ve said that our customer vision is for those who used to buy the brand, but are now older – wiser – in different income brackets. We are creating TWOBOP for its original community who matured – like we have – and inviting everyone else to join, too. I think this idea of re-investment into the community speaks to where we have matured to now. It’s not about the parties anymore – even though those are necessary – it’s more about, what is the point of this? Are we contributing back to society? TWOBOP’s history is a symbol of a social, cultural and economic shift in South Africa; in which people of colour are ascending as the rightful leaders of their own narratives and land. The brand is continuing to tell that story in this next chapter.”

Nostalgia can be a perilous thing, locking our memories into a particular view of how something was, and thus should continue to be. Veterans of the scene a decade ago might have mixed responses; but, it’s not about capturing what once was, rather it’s about invigorating what still exists. For Eden and Mario, their questions lead to a larger inquiry about the future of our country as an established design market – where is our Daily Paper, or Aimé Leon Dore, they ask? And while the new kids of streetwear come up, what are the wayshowers up to? For the duo, for TWOBOP to exist as a fading remnant of what once defined coolness would be a tragedy – so even with the challenges of reinvention, and the deep digging they’ve had to do to prepare themselves and the brand for what is ahead, it’s also been a complete no-brainer in taking up this mantle. Mario comments on this, “I think Anthony’s choosing us, and in giving us his blessing in that way, while remaining an advisor that we can always lean on – means that the support of the community will happen. We’ve had a great response so far.” With Eden saying, “On the nostalgia thing, I wrote my research proposal for my honours around that idea of memory- and it’s so interesting to me, the relationship between nostalgia and brand love. It’s a psychological phenomena, but does it actually equal long-term business vitality? The thing is, TWOBOP as a name is powerful enough to hold the nostalgia – and the rest is about enhancing that feeling to new heights.”

The strategy going forward is as such: the brand will host an evergreen collection of carefully designed, fabricated and made essentials – pieces that will become the favourites, and form the stronghold of the brand’s foundation. With clean branding, Mario & Eden have revealed the bare bones of the relaunch that has seen people go wild online. Mario says, “We have this incredible opportunity to begin to define what TWOBOP looks like, now. Transeasonal, trusted pieces are optimal – and then around that, we can really play and build on the design language through limited capsule pieces or collections.”  For the first insight into the brand – and a direct homage to their matured community – TWOBOP KETTANG is a chain and emblem pairing, symbolic of a rite of passage; an exceptional offering enriched with meaning, featuring the very 20 cents style that Antonyhy would have used as a kid, at the arcade, in the late ‘80s. With two varying entry points – 925 Sterling Silver or 9-Karat Gold – the balance of luxury and unpretentious cut effortlessly in this first edition of TWOBOP’s future. Eden says, “Where we’re from, when you get your first really good job or paycheck – it’s customary to buy gold. Just your first piece of gold, in some way, that then becomes part of the family’s story. Heirlooms are intrinsic to us and the people around us, so we couldn’t imagine a more beautiful way than to step into this new phase of TWOBOP with its own heirloom to pave the way forward.” 

Visit https://twobop.com for more information on 20c Coin release 

Written by: Holly Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Matthew Edwards on Design as a Toolkit for a Better Future

Sep 16, 2022 | Interviews, Creatives

Design changes the world. Throughout time, and all the ages of our existence, it has been the process of design – in all its iterations – that has sought to propel us forward. Design-thinking has always been led by intuition, perhaps until the age of reason in which Cartesian logic rendered the natural world around us as mechanistic; and us, as machines operating within it too. We have reached a stage in the movie of our advancement obsession, and ‘pregnant-with-possibility’ consciousness, in which a deep, and often devastating, assessment of our creations paint a harrowing image of the future. Least not, the fact that the future we all fear – far off, and well into the mid 21st century – is introducing itself to us now. The unprecedented heatwaves in London, or the flooding Accra, or our own coastline of KZN ravaged by seasonal flooding that reached its apex; it’s clear that the planet is crying out. In our pursuit for comfort, control and consumption; directed by ideological, oppressive systems and political frameworks; hope seems to dry up like arid landscapes, barren futures await. 

Except, what if we listened? What if we stripped everything back, and re-initiated ourselves into the problem-solving approaches that have always held our delicate existence within the web of life?

Matthew Edwards is one such designer intimately acquainted with these questions. Beginning his career as an industrial designer, with a stint in advertising and marketing – a process he credits with teaching him how to actually sell an idea – Matt’s personal work is succinctly housed under ‘matte’ while running the Big Circle Studios – an award winning design studio that he co-founded with Kiera Crowe Pettersson. Leading conversations, ideation and execution of work lensed through the futures of materials in the world – Matt’s work emphasises a rigorous curiosity, open-source education and knowledge exchange. With the last few years of working with adidas on a number of sustainability driven projects, there was a time when this pathway was almost non-existent. Reflecting on how the landscape has shifted in South Africa regarding sustainable design, Matt says “I fell in love with interesting materials in university. When I left though, there was no clear pathway into sustainable design as a career. That was challenging to work towards, so I did what many of us do and made some headway in corporate. I really wanted to be in a conceptual design space with sustainability as a key pillar. More and more, ‘sustainability’ is becoming less of a niche function of a designer’s work – which is essential. Design needs to be uncompromisingly led by sustainability or regenerative thinking, otherwise it’s really just taking an idea to manufacturing, through a value chain that is so obviously breaking down.”

Footwear has proven to be a design form that has beckoned Matt. Whether it’s been tending to moss, stitched and alive onto a pair of Stan Smith’s, or applying drip-applicated pigments to a pair of adi’s – footwear is a beautiful blend of engineering and design, almost mutually inclusive of each other as informing the final function and aesthetic. It is also, nowadays, the testing ground for some of the leading innovation in recycled materials, streamlined thinking and application within the apparel industries. Look no further than the megalithic companies of Nike, adidas and so on – to this day, I remain ever- impressed by Space Hippies as footwear exploration. On this, Matt says, “I think if I’d been born anywhere else, I’d have been a footwear designer. I got into it through some conceptual projects, and I’ve found footwear as a really exciting vehicle or medium to carry an idea. People engage with it really well, too. People are interested in the materials of footwear – particularly sneakers – and for ‘sneakerheads’, they are intrinsically informed and fascinated by every detail in the shoes they buy. I like it when people ask questions – that’s really the purpose of design – so whether a person is saying it’s cool and innovative, or it looks awful and uncomfortable – I know that I’m doing something meaningful.”

Footwear is Matt’s work nurtured under his personal brand “matte” alongside other products. Big Circle is the other aspect of his work, and is a non-profit studio; w and since 2020 – Matt and his colleague Kiera have been utilising research and design to come up with innovative, interesting design grassroots sustainability problems. Questions of how to deal with plastic waste – or organic waste – or material collection in South Africa, and looking at value chains differently. Matt explains, “Some of them have been speculative, but we’ve also been able to develop recipes that are contextually relevant for South African bio-materials. It’s a really interesting space to be in, and part of the research has been to localise our own relationship in the country to this greater conversation in the world around bio-materials and our future with it as a planet. If we look at the trends globally, there’s a huge push for bacterial cellulose or mycelium, or algae dyes, and the research is still bubbling under the surface here. We are approaching it in a semi-scientific and semi-creative way.” For Matt, maintaining an inquiry into sustainability and product design, alongside research, moulds a beautiful path forward – particularly around the idea that people can experiment on their own with their stove and few base ingredients; “I kinda want everyone to be designing, and looking around their immediate communities and environments and experimenting. There are huge companies leading a lot of the conversation, but they’re still creating as much of a problem. The true value of bio-materials or sustainable problem solving is how it affects our everyday lives, and also that we remain mindful that a lot of what we are discovering is a rediscovery – that has its origins in indigenous knowledge systems and practices.”

I will urge you, the reader, to visit Matt’s sites and immerse yourself in some striking ideas. In ending off our conversation, I ask Matt where his interest is right now regarding bio-materials, to which he says, “I’m, of course, really interested in mycelium, which is taking the world by storm. The fact that one grows something into a mould, and then that material could replace something like polystyrene or a terracotta brick, or an insulator foam, the possibilities are endless. The properties are so bizarre and alien-like – like it can float, but it’s also fire resistant – and also remediates soil? It’s so contradictory and for a researcher, it’s unendingly exciting to imagine this very ancient, critical base material of the earth being something that could really and truly help change our current state. We have a DIY mushroom growing industry here in South Africa, so we can piggyback off of that – and a few researchers particularly at UJ – but really, we are in our infancy in the country regarding mycelium. I think between mycelium, bacterial cellulose and vegetable leathers, those are the future.” In commenting on South Africa’s vantage point, Matt says, “We have this really interesting contrast between access to really cutting edge, expensive machinery, and then a really strong “make-do, DIY” sector and those two spaces are going to have quite different outputs. I see this quite interesting future where this low-tech, hand-driven outcome begins to take root in a big way.”

Written by: Holly Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Navigating Non-Monogamy | polyamory, playmates and personal connection

Sep 15, 2022 | Lifestyle, Navigating Reality

While swiping on your dating app of choice, arbitrarily deciding whether the person whose carefully curated profile contains a few photos and a couple of conversational prompts could be “The One”. You read their bio. It starts with a witty albeit overused joke, their height, some of their interests and, of course, the obligatory “must love dogs/cats”. You scroll a little further to be greeted by an abbreviation you aren’t familiar with, CNM or ENM. You minimise the app and make your way over to Google, in a millisecond, you are bombarded by millions of search results, opening you up to the world of Consensual- or Ethical non-monogamy.

So what is CNM? Well, in truth, CNM is somewhat of an umbrella phrase used by psychologists and psychotherapists to describe a wide range of distinctly different consensual non-monogamous relationship agreements that range from swinging, open relationships or, as is the case in polyamory, the philosophy that it is possible to love multiple people simultaneously to name just a few. At this point, it is only fair to state openly and honestly, to avoid bias, that on my dating profiles, I have ENM and Poly as part of my bio. I find myself currently exploring the world of CNM with a partner who I am falling deeply in love with but still seeking out predominantly sexual relationships with others. That said, I assume a whole host of questions and assumptions have made their way into your mind. Isn’t that just cheating? Isn’t being with one person enough for you? Are you just exploring CNM because you are scared to commit to one person? Doesn’t the jealousy absolutely eat you up? Well, that’s what this is all about, so let’s have a chat.

Photo: @hustleblud / Matt Alex Ginsburg

The notion is that CNM relationships are merely or predominantly an excuse to cheat on your partners without the consequences infidelity would have in traditional monogamous relationships. To tackle this, we first need to define what we consider infidelity, which as renowned psychotherapist Esther Perel mentions in many of her talks on infidelity, is rather hard to do. In her 2015 TED talk, she says, “everyone wants to know what percentage of people cheat… But the definition of infidelity keeps on expanding: sexting, watching porn, staying secretly active on dating apps. So because there is no universally agreed-upon definition of what even constitutes infidelity, estimates vary widely, from 26% to 75%.” However, she also provides her definition of what she considers cheating, and I think it’s an excellent basis to work off of. “Now, I like this definition of an affair — it brings together the three key elements: a secretive relationship, which is the core structure of an affair; an emotional connection to one degree or another; and a sexual alchemy. And alchemy is the key word here, because the erotic frisson is such that the kiss that you only imagine giving, can be as powerful and as enchanting as hours of actual lovemaking. As Marcel Proust said, it’s our imagination that is responsible for love, not the other person.” Perel’s beautiful worded definition here, I feel, gives a clear guideline to infidelity. I think the key point here regarding CNM relationships and how they distinguish themselves from infidelity lies in the notion that all parties involved in the many forms of CNM relationships are aware of and openly communicate about all the other relations they and their partners are involved in. However, it is of the utmost importance to mention that cheating is still possible within CNM relationships because people may cross the line regarding the rules, boundaries or limits that have been agreed upon. For example, I would consider it cheating if I were to go on a date without all parties involved being aware or informing my partner about the fact that I’m going on a date and my date being aware that I do have a partner. This way, the date is fully consented to by all parties. There is no secrecy involved, and hence according to the definition put forward by Perel, it cannot be seen as cheating.

Building on misconceptions regarding people who practice CNM, I think one is most often flung around is that it is all simply because of some unquenchable sexual thirst or the inability or fear to commit to a single partner. From the outside, it may very well seem like that, but as one of the seminal voices regarding CNM, psychotherapist Margaret Nichols writes, “Many people are titillated when they first hear about polyamory, but a common joke in poly circles is that CNM people spend far more time talking to partners and discussing issues than actually having sex.” Don’t get me wrong, the sexual aspect is something that is important, well, at least to me, but no more or less important than it has been in my monogamous relationships. However, as an interesting note, there are actually a lot of people that identify as asexual who practice polyamory. “They find polyamory appealing because they can still have an emotional, romantic relationship—or multiple relationships—but their partners aren’t also forced to be asexual or celibate,” writes Dedeker Winston, author of The Smart Girl’s Guide to Polyamory. I guess that is one of the paradoxes that surround CNM and particularly polyamory, albeit it may seem like a relationship model that distances itself from commitment, it is, in actuality, a form of dating that requires an immense amount of continued commitment. Commitment to communication, to care, to being present with your various partners and playmates and also continuously checking in on them to address and resolve any conflicts or concerns they may have.

Photo: @hustleblud / Matt Alex Ginsburg

I hear you exclaiming well, you can’t have your cake and eat it too, but here I would like to disagree wholeheartedly. Maybe it is a matter of perspective, but I am pretty perplexed by the manner in which we as a society have created very clear, heavily reinforced ideas about particularly romantic love. To paraphrase TEDx speaker Kel Walters, society views romantic love as a well, one in which you give and give until you scrape the bottom and there’s nothing more to offer. Love, however, works more like a positive feedback loop in which the more you give, the more you receive, the more you want to give in return. This is all understood outside the confines of romantic love. Just because you get a new friend doesn’t mean you have to cast your existing friendships aside, there is always space for more platonic love. The same notion exists in families in which we accept that we don’t stop loving a sibling just because we got more siblings, and parents don’t stop loving one child as soon as they have another (in healthy familial scenarios, that is). Still, when it comes to romantic love, we have mostly been taught and have had ideas reinforced by society and various forms of media that it is somehow the only finite version of that emotional expression.

Now in no way am I aiming to convert anyone into transitioning into a CNM relationship, nor do I think that monogamy doesn’t have its place. Monogamy can be so unbelievably beautiful, but it’s not for everyone. Monogamy is actually a pretty modern concept, as many human societies have only become monogamous in the last 200 years or so. Many historians trace it back to the agricultural revolution as Nichols mentions that monogamy was widely instituted “as a way for men to establish patrilineality and hand down material wealth to their offspring”. Not to show my red socks too much, but monogamy is inherently linked to ownership, in which a man needed to be sure of his wife’s fidelity as a highly unromantic financial incentive. The modern world, however, has brought with it a number of external stressors that I genuinely believe we have not yet evolved to deal with. Yes, monogamous relationships can be enough, but in my mind, I’ve thought a lot about the sheer amount of pressure we are putting on one person to fulfil a role that is becoming more and more complicated. Perel mentions, “We have a romantic ideal in which we turn to one person to fulfil an endless list of needs: to be my greatest lover, my best friend, the best parent, my trusted confidant, my emotional companion, my intellectual equal. And I am it: I’m chosen, I’m unique, I’m indispensable, I’m irreplaceable, I’m the one.” But often, as global divorce rates show, we can’t be “the one” to satiate and satisfy all the needs of our partners. Similarly to how we have a multitude of friends that play different roles and fulfil other needs, people within CNM relationships translate this notion over to their various romantic and/or sexual partners as well in a process Nichols often refers to as outsourcing (how sexy).

Photo: @hustleblud / Matt Alex Ginsburg

In conclusion, it is time to address the elephant in the room. The factor that probably deters most people away from exploring CNM; jealousy. Now, I have to admit that I have been very fortunate in that the limits and boundaries my partner and I set up with each other has, if anything, killed any semblance of jealousy I had left. So yes, jealousy is an issue, but only as big an issue in CNM as it is within monogamy. As sex educator, Joli Hamilton mentions, there aren’t actually any forms of relationships that completely protect us from feelings of jealousy. Jealousy is so deeply entrenched in us that our own imagination can be strong enough to drive such a deep sense of jealousy that we ruin all kinds of relationships. The critical point here is that jealousy is a primal emotion often not related to what we witness happen in the outside world but rather an external expression of our innermost insecurities. Hamilton speaks about the presence of compersion (a term loosely defined as the opposite of jealousy) in many CNM relationships. Compersion boils down to a conscious turning towards joy in the face of jealousy. Instead of lashing out because your partner communicates the fact that they felt sexually satisfied or emotionally fulfilled by someone else, many within the CNM community use it as an opportunity to celebrate that someone they value so deeply could have such a fulfilling experience. As I said, jealousy never goes entirely away, and it is present in all types of interpersonal relationships, although it seems that many (not all) within CNM rewire their brains to turn one of humanity’s ugliest emotions into one of celebration and learning. I’m not saying CNM is for everyone but that there are viable alternatives.     

Happy navigating, if you so wish.

Written by: Casey Delport

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

It’s All for Kaapstad with Music Producer Shaney Jay

Sep 13, 2022 | Music

Behind every great artist is an exceptional record producer. In decades past, producers were strictly behind the scenes, identifying and honing the sound and skill of their collaborative musicians – quietly responsible for cultivating and maximising records, EPs and singles to reach success and notoriety. Today, figures like Ye, Mark Ronson, Pharell Williams paved the way for the ascension of the producer, making it a front-facing path in which it is now paid the respect it’s always been due. Great art, especially in music, is a team effort; and the producer is an instrumental seat of power. 

When YoungstaCPT burst on the scene a few years ago, rap in South Africa – and particularly in Cape Town – changed forever. From the plateaus of the Cape Flats, the sound was forged that seeded the poetry of the coloured experience and visions for the future. YoungstaCPT, in this way, is the Don. Producer Shaney Jay, has come to be known as a right-hand figure and cooking beats for Youngsta, while growing his repertoire as one of the most critical hip-hop producers in a new wave of music production occurring throughout Africa. We chatted to Shaney Q+A style to hear more of his journey.

How did you start making music, and become a producer?

I actually started out rapping so I wanted to be a rapper at first but getting my own beats was always a problem and the producers at the time weren’t sending anything I liked so that’s when I started making my own beats and I haven’t looked back since.

 

The role of the producer is critical, and we have seen it become a more front-facing position with the respect it’s always been due – can you talk about being a producer in South Africa in the last few years?

I’ve definitely seen the producer community grow since I started out. Producers play an important role in the industry and have been carrying the game for the last few years because the productions these days are crazy and I feel like producers are starting to get the respect they deserve. So shout out to all my producer homies one time.

 

Your work with Youngsta shifted the fabric of music & hip hop in SA but particularly in Cape Town – can you talk about this experience, and putting Kaapstad on the map?

Youngsta is really the one who put Kaapstad on the map and I wouldn’t really be in the position I am today if it wasn’t for him. The experience of working with him is really dope and I feel like what we did was something that shined a light on Cape Town because of artists that we featured on the tape and also just the overall message.

 

What are the key things you want young people getting into the business to know?

Dreams don’t pay bills. If you really want to get your name out there in the industry you need to be on top of your game 24/7. So always put the work in and network as much as possible.

 

What’s your vision for 2022 and beyond?

To definitely start producing for more international artists and to also grow the Cape Town music scene further.

Written by: Holly Bell Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Fine-Wine & Vibes with Joburg’s new female-owned restaurant : Acid Food & Wine Bar

Sep 9, 2022 | Lifestyle, Community

I remember hearing Matty Matheson once say that chefs make the best restaurateurs – and this truth extends to all the key roles and skill sets that make up the dining experience. Hospitality is not for the faint-hearted; and many just pass through this profession as means to an end, mostly in their early 20s. Then, there are those who stay; who find their passion and pathway within the energetic, high-pressure / high-stakes business of food & wine – and those rare people, whose professional grit is forged in the intensity of the kitchen, or the spin-like dance of service on the floor, or behind the bar – learn to speak their own language and observe subtleties the rest of us may never know. Subtleties of client’s responses in a single gesture, or the nuances of flavours, or the dynamics among staff – a sharpened intuition of how people want to experience what they themselves are unsure of; to me, working in a restaurant is an artform. 

Mastering the craft of hospitality is exemplified by sommelier Jemma Styer and chef Jes Doveton – two women who have spent the last few years learning, adapting and growing within the melting-pot of the restaurant and bar realm, a realm that has kept calling them back to pursue food and wine; over and over again. Now, in a dream that is fast becoming reality, Jemma and Jes are gearing up to open their Joburg food and wine bar: Acid. The name is taken from the essentiality of acid as a balancing component across food and wine – forget psychedelics – the term in this context is incisive, and speaks straight to the heart of their respective expertise. I think of Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat & how cooking, overall, as a craft has burst wide open across TV, Youtube and in books – good food and wine are a birthright, and Jemma and Jes are custodians of this sentiment, with vision to share it in a pared back, considered and inclusive setting.

Jes is self-taught, and cooking has been a natural reflex that she honed out of curiosity and persistence. It’s also deeply personal and healing – as she says, “My mom is Thai, and it was something I was quite embarrassed about as a kid. As I got older, I realised that what I learned through food from my mom – as it was the biggest way we connected – was a huge lesson I’d been learning all that time in the balancing of flavour and importance of ingredients. Asian food in general is a mastery in salt, sourness, sweetness and spice, and it’s a key part of the way I’ve learned to cook and experience food. Balance has informed how I approached cooking, and when I went onto to work at restaurants on the floor and later as a consultant.” Having worked on yachts and shifting from a stewardess to a chef, Jes’ experience of managing a full-scale kitchen space has since been an important aspect of her work as a consultant. Streamlining processes and preparation – Jes’ dedication to incredible food combines functionality and dynamism, a central tenet to the custom kitchens being built for Acid.

Jemma is a prolific sommelier in Johannesburg – having been catapulted into the space by chance, when she was sent on a wine course by the restaurant she worked at during university. Now, a few years later, Jemma is a trusted fixture on Joburg’s wine scene – mostly recently and notably known for taking Coalition Pizza’s wine repertoire to a considered level. On this, Jemma says, “Working with the guys at Coalition, focusing on wine, was great because the space is simple – it’s incredible pizza, and so the wine needed to reflect that. When they decided to cut their Rosebank store in half, and make one side an Italian wine bar, Flor was born.” Armed with the skillset, experience and qualifications – a trio of requirements for the exceptional complement that a sommelier is to a restaurant – Jemma matches Jes in an incredible way. After a chance meeting, and a few glasses of wine shared over time, the two decided to collaborate; somehow, someway. With mutual admiration and understanding of a shared vision; Acid has been born out of their desire to seed a space that works: that is welcoming, aesthetically compelling and original, and of course – draws back down to the ever-lasting dance between food and wine. In a surprising way, when all of us are wanting to make every idea we have happen, Acid has seen a pretty seamless development from concept to actualisation, Jes says, “We have had challenges, of course. But these are obstacles that we have overcome together.” Jemma adds, “We have had moments where we are like, how are we going to solve this? But, there has never been a moment in which we said we can’t do this.” While it’s an unfortunate trope of the society we find ourselves in – it has to be said and acknowledged that being a female-led business in a notoriously masculine, boisterous industry is a critical contribution to hospitality in South Africa.

Encouraged by their respective networks and friends – Acid is being realised through Jemma, Jes and Tag Design Architects – alongside their creative strategist, Lineo Kakole. Set to open in early October, their recent launch event was an immense success; with DJ sets played by friends, and punctuated – of course – by beautiful food and wine. The event set the tone for what is to come – the unbridled joy and community that surrounds the unmatched role that food and wine plays in the human experience. On how the wine will play a part, Jemma says, “We will be focusing on female producers and producers of colour – and offer a wide range of unusual and regular wines. We will have a small set menu, with everything by the glass, and then a rotated menu every couple of weeks around a certain theme. I want people to come in and be able to get some education about wine in an encouraging environment.” and for the food, Jes explains, “I really don’t like the term ‘asian fusion’ – but given my background and cooking style, asian cooking will be a central reference, but I’m endlessly curious about food and flavours around the world – so, it’s probably best described as ‘ global food’. I don’t want to set myself limitations, and it will be small plates – with a few mains – and non-negotiably, oysters. Dressed oysters will be permanent. I’m building a framework which can be adapted – to establish familiar dishes that will be Acid’s regulars, but using varying ingredients with respects to seasons and mood.”

With a specific focus on hiring and upskilling their staff, and integrity as a remedy for the often intense pressure of the restaurant business – Acid is marking a new wave of young-ownership, female-led hospitality – and the space itself? Without giving too much away: retro yet timeless, warm and inviting – unusual – and most importantly, the stage for an incredible future for Acid.

Written by: Holly Bell Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Exploring Mutable Forms of Earth with Blank Project’s latest exhibition

Sep 7, 2022 | Art, Community

The earth is ripe for inspiration – to me, Mother Nature is our first and most formidable artist. All of us, her children seeking to create on our own accord, but always with a lineage that traces back to the planet. The strength of concept at blank projects’ current show, ‘the weight of a stone’, interrogates precisely this; the mutable forms in which earth as a substance exists. Never static nor passive, as the prima materia of our corporeal expression in the world. The show notes describe it best, “the stoicism of cement, the richness of clay, the sturdiness of metal, the infinite darkness of the mine, the pigmentation of soil, the fragility of glass and the versatility of salt.” These descriptions are exceedingly poetic – and in mere words, enliven the often mundane view of matter as vital material; our original mediums. Tucked away in a 360sqm space in Woodstock, blank projects offers a sublime space for such inquiries – high ceilings, sheet-white walls and parquet floors – and since 2012, ‘’the gallery represents emerging and increasingly established artists from the region in a critically engaged programme that emphasises contemporaneity, with a focus on concept and abstraction in the African context.”

The show, co-curated by Lemeeze Davids and Thobile Ndenze – brought together an array of 10 artists, each with their practice linking back to earth. On how ‘the weight of stone’ was conceptualised, Lemeeze says, “the concept emerged organically after a discussion around a few artists that we were generally interested in, when in the brainstorming stages of the show. We noticed that the common thread was that they all worked using varied forms of earth. We mostly let this organic connection lead and speak for itself, only adding a few more artists based on the curatorial direction, as artists confirmed their availability.” Regarding the response to the show, Lemeeze says, “The reception has been tremendous – the opening night was packed and we’ve had a lot of foot traffic during the course of the show, which is great as winter is normally a slower season for visitors. We’ve had very positive responses towards the show from friends of the gallery, artists, and arts practitioners alike. Overall, as the first presentation that Thobile and I have curated since joining the blank team this year, we’re really happy how it came together and how the show makes use of the space.”

Following a beautiful format, ‘the weight of a stone’ is divided into clay / metal / soil and stone – each division grouping together artists whose work reflects the materiality of four forms of earth. Vulnerability of process was key as Lemeeze explains, “A number of works, including Nolan’s set of xenoliths, Jean-Marie’s sculpture, Rowan’s pieces and Inga’s works, were created specifically for the show, while Zayaan, Setlamorago, donna, and Belinda’s installations were compiled from their deep archives and studio processes of years’ of works. It was also wonderful to introduce our audience to the work of Tendai Mupita (Zimbabwean) and Pieter Paul Pothoven (Dutch), who are international artists we’ve had the pleasure of meeting through research around the show.”

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We urge you to pop into the space to see the show before it ends on 10th September, 2022.
10 Lewin Street, Woodstock, Cape Town .

Click here for ‘the weight of stone’ zine – a critical accompaniment to your walkthrough of the show.

Written by: Holly Bell Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za