- Rich Mnisi expands his artistic collection with a second offering titled Dzuvula.
- The collection is showcased and available for purchase at the Southern Guild gallery in Cape Town until 18 April 2024.
- Pieces include sculptured bronze furniture, lighting and a hand-woven rug.
His clothing designs have been synonymous with fluidity and aesthetically pleasing art.
Famed fashion designer Rich Mnisi expands his creative eye with a solo exhibition of collectible designs at the Southern Guild in Cape Town, showcasing from 8 February to 18 April 2024.
The collection, titled Dzuvula (Shedding Skin), expands on the cosmology that emerged from the fashion designer's debut artistic home collection, Nyoka, which was first exhibited in October 2021.
Dzuvula introduces a polished bronze table, called Mbhoni (Witness), that bulges and swells outwards held up on a serpentine limb.
The collection also includes a pair of sculptural seats, Ripfumelo I and Ripfumelo II, that combine bronze armatures and sheepskin seats as well as Vutlhari II (Wisdom), which is a bronze chandelier reminiscent of the snake design and a collaborative effort between Rich and fellow designer Charles Haupt.
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Rich reveals to TRUELOVE the inspiration behind these designs.
“Nyoka gave birth to a world so vast that a single collection wouldn’t explore everything it has to offer. Dzuvula is less about creating a link and more about furthering the exploration. The snake – with its embodiment of fear and beauty – makes a reappearance in this latest collection although this time, it reveals itself fully for all to see, indicating a kind of embrace and acceptance of the fear.”
The opening night of the exhibition boasted a sophisticated and glamorous evening that held his pieces in high esteem. Rich shared the opening with fellow creative Justine Mahoney who debuted her sculptures and art collection VIGIL.
Rich shares how the debut of his second homeware collection created an excited stir among the attendees at the opening show.
“The opening went really well – it grew a diverse and lively crowd, especially since it was a double opening as well (Justine Mahoney’s VIGIL opened on the same evening), so it was doubly celebratory.
“And I think people are very impressed by what they’ve seen – the pieces are very beautiful and resolved – and there’s an appreciation in particular of the craftsmanship that’s gone into every piece. It’s also a very technically complex and interesting collection, and that’s always a great conversation-starter.”
Although Dzuvula continues the themes of the intertwining serpent introduced by his first collection Nyoka, Rich explains, “Where Nyoka attempted to hold the frictions and tensions of creation and life, Dzuvula expands on this world to draw parallels between the snake’s duplexity and our own conflicting nature.
“Nyoka spoke to creation through regurgitation and the drawing together of things. Dzuvula speaks to the things that quietly encroach in between. This new body of work is the spark created by that friction: the animation of life. Reflective surfaces refract and manipulate light, creating many forms from the teasing apart of one.”
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Dzuvula also references the Congolese mythological god Bumba, who is said to have created life by expelling elements of the natural world.
With the collection available for purchase from the Southern Guild, more pieces in the collection include Shiluva (Flower), a rug made of Tibetan wool and silk as well as Nyoka II, a curved console punctuated by the winding form of the bronze snake with its storage compartment covered by patterned beading inspired by Rich’s spring/summer 2022 Mafamba Yexe fashion collection.
To be able to work closely with the art gallery that represents contemporary artists from Africa and its diaspora is something that Rich commends as assisting him with bringing his artistic visions to life.
“Collaborating closely with Southern Guild, my visions were brought to life by working with various artists and artisans including Haupt, Monkeybiz and PACO.”
“This aligns with both Southern Guild’s and my commitment to promoting craft and South African handwork. It’s a collaborative effort but very much starts with me chatting through my ideas with Julian (co-founder of Southern Guild) and then we just see where things flow from there. Everything comes together much more clearly when it gets worked through slowly and meticulously.”
