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81 year old Esther Mahlangu is commissioned to put her traditional Ndebele art work onto Swedish sneaker company’s new line. Mahlangu is the first woman to have ever created a BMW Art Car, joining the ranks of Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol and David Hockney.
Ndebeles are an ethnic group from South Africa who are known for their wall paintings and colourful beadwork. According to The Amusing Planet, “the Ndebeles suffered a horrible defeat in a war against the Dutch-speaking settlers – the Boers, just before the start of the twentieth century. Forced into an oppressive life, the Ndebele people started using expressive symbols to secretly communicate with each other.” Since no one knew the meanings coded into the patterns, it was assumed to be simply decorative and continued to flourish. The revolutionary essence in this resistance art has trickled all the way down to Esther Mahlangu, who is the embodiment of that revolutionary spirit. At the age of 81, Esther has most recently been asked to customize sneakers for Swedish company, Eytys.
Mahlangu was taught the traditional form of the art by her mother when she was a little girl. “It wasn’t until she was asked by a museum she was working at to paint a traditional pattern on one of their walls that her own distinctive style was born, however” reports the Chromologist. Instead of the traditionally used colours of black soot, chalky white and orange, Mahlangu used commercially made paints in bright colours that captivated the world. In 1991, she was invited to paint a prototype of the BMW 525i model as one in a series of BMW Art Cars. Esther soon created a masterpiece of Ndebele art that “will never be subjected to driving on the road, but willexist exclusively as a work of art,” reports Open Africa.
It doesn’t end there. Mahlangu is passionate about the battle against AIDS and has combined this with her one true love, art. “As part of a campaign promoted by John Legend, she has created a classic Ndebele design for a special edition bottle of Belvedere vodka. Half of the profits will be donated to the Global Fund to be used in tackling HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB” reports The Guardian.
Bold geometric patterns from her latest works have been selected to be embroidered onto two versions of the sneakers as part of the Eytys Doja collection. They will be co-branded with Mahlangu’s signature, says Boat Mag. The sneakers were launched in February of this year.
Feaured Image Courtesy Webster Molaudi
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