Visi – August 2019

NO

1

WORDS

MICHAELA

STEHR

TRADITION MEETS

TECHNOLOGY

TheHlabisathree-seaterbenchis the product of a collaboration

involvingMash.TDesignStudio,Houtlander and two basket weavers.

he shapeof thebenchwasinspiredby

thethree-leggedpotmy grandmother

alwaysusedwhenwe’dvisitherin

KwaZulu-Natal,”saysThabisaMjoof

Mash.TDesignStudio.Its undulatingsilhouettealso

referencestherollinghillsso typicalof thisprovince.

StephenWilsonandPhillipHollanderof

HoutlanderthenperfectedThabisa’sconceptusing

3D modelling,andafterexperimentationdecidedto

usebasketweavefor thebackrestof theoakbench.

Theyhadonlysix weeksin whichto finishit beforethe

RévélationsFairin Paris,wherethebenchwasto be

exhibitedas partof a SouthAfricanstandcuratedby

SophieFerrand-Hazard,andtheystillhadto findan

accomplishedweaver.

Theirsearchled themto Hlabisain northern

KwaZulu-Natal,whereBeautyNgxongolives.She

started on the backrest using her signature weaving

motif, but when she had to travel abroad for an

exhibition she handed over the work to another

master weaver, Thuleleni Mhlongo. Since every

weaver has her own distinct pattern, there are slight

inconsistencies, but this just adds to the appeal of the

Hlabisa bench.

Keen to exploreotherdesignapplications

for the craft of basket

weaving, the

design trio

recently hosted

a work shop for

weavers.

@masht

designstudio

houtlander.co.za

“T

Thuleleni Mhlongo

is one of the two

master weavers

who worked on the

Hlabisa bench.

VISI REASONS

visi.co.za AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 130