BLACK AFRICA. A MIRROR

sizes:
1000mm x 900mm

Material - Perspex

price:
POA

NDEBELE STOOL

Made in collaboration with Elizabeth and Vincent Gwebu, bead workers originally from Mpumalanga, now living in Philippi, Cape Town.

These stools are based on the materials, techniques and forms of traditional Ndeble dolls.

Ndebele art speaks no longer just to the indigenous community, but now serves also as an aesthetic commodity, an economic "bridge to the 21(st) century" for South African Ndebele women artists and their families. We are witnessing an artistic society of women proceeding through their own cultural aesthetic evolution.

Instead of producing more and more traditional dolls that are common in South Africa, and whose only function is a curio or keepsake, we are using tenets of Ndebele culture to produce furniture that is relevant/attractive to an international market with sustainable economic benefits.

TOKOLOSHE

Traditional magic and superstition have always formed an integral part of South Africa's indigenous folktales, in which the tokoloshe is a significant manifestation. Even today many rural and urban Nguni peoples, particularly the Zulu and Xhosa, still believe in the power of these mischievous and sometimes evil, hairy spirits. Interestingly though, the belief in these water sprites has spread to all cultures in South Africa.

All over the country, black South Africans would often raise their beds by placing the legs of their beds on paint tins or bricks, raising their bed up to 3 feet from the ground. It is an almost universal belief, that this was to keep the occupant of the bed out of reach of the Tokoloshe while you sleep.

Tokoloshe is avaliable in two widths:
bench - 1800mm x 430mm
bed - 1800mm x 800mm

Steel frame is epoxy coated and
avaliable in a variety colours.

To place orders or for more information
contact Animal Farm on +27834410662
or porky@animal-farm.co.za

DIRTTRAPPER

Below are two conceptually designed doormats, created to catch the stubbornest of dirt.

PLECTRUM

Plectrum was created to be the face of Media 24 at this years 'Rockin' the Daisies' concert.
He was created around the infamous gimp of last years festival that partied strong, with his lighter, for three days straight.

FIGHTING FIRE

Problem:

how to reduce the wild fires that ravage Table Mountain every summer.

Solution:
install wooden fire extinguishers that are completely useless. It’s not as dumb as it sounds…

So we decided to install 65 wooden extinguishers in the The Table Mountain National Park, with a focus on fire hot spots, picnic areas and along all major walking trails, to make the point that it is almost impossible to stop a wild fire once it has started. Using a real fire extinguisher on one would be as effective as using this wooden one. The only way to stop the fires is to prevent them. The instructions on the label are all about how people can prevent fires.

The Carpenters Shop, an Non Governmental Organisation setup to teach woodwork skills to the homeless and unemployed, were commissioned to carve the fire extinguishers from invasive alien trees that had been cleared from the Park. These non-indigenous trees destabilise the natural environment. They drink all the water, Cause major erosion, suck up all the light and, most of all, spread their seed when they burn, causing even worse problems in years to come.

The project was funded by Cape Union Mart, an outdoor clothing manufacturer and the extinguishers were installed by Chubb Fire, the major Fire extinguisher company in Cape Town.

For other reviews on this project checkout:

creative review
cherryflava

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN

For those who are not aware cape towns forests are destroyed every summer by raging forest fires and unfortunately the fire department just doesn't have the resources to deal with the situation. so......

We commissioned 'The carpenters shop', an NGO setup to teach woodwork skills to the homeless and unemployed, to carve us 65 fire extinguishers from alien trees.
these are the trees that drink all the water, suck up all the light and most of all spread their seed when they burn. our hope was to create a general awareness around fire prevention by
installing these extinguishers, mounted to alien trees, across all major forests and walkways in cape town.

All 65 extinguishers.were installed over three days spanning across the entire table mountain national park, from signal hill to kalk bay.

we will see how long they all last.