SUPERBALIST X LULAMA WOLF

Words by Lesego Ntsime | Images: Andile Buka | Video: Khotso Makhothi

Eden: a concept as old as time itself. A forgotten language and a forgotten paradise. Presumably the first world, Eden, is the earliest beginning. In a limited edition fashion and homeware collaboration that summons the words the African soil speaks, stories buried beneath consciousness, joy untold and God - visual artist Lulama Mlambo, widely known as ‘Lulama Wolf’, and Superbalist tell the story of the beginning. 

“When Superbalist approached me with a collaboration for fashion and homeware, using selected illustrated pieces of my art, I was happy to re-enter a space I was familiar with because it supports and conceptualises much of my work,” the globally acclaimed visual artist voices. “Eden, a collaborative collection illustrated by me and designed as well as manufactured by Superbalist, does exactly that and explores the ‘Garden of Eden’ in relation to my land, and immediate experience.’

On the feelings Eden incites within her, Lulama reflects: “Eden transports us back, reminding us of the beginning. It encompasses the idea of the joy of life and the gift of the earth and land. Eden is a verbal, sonic and visual idea of all that is important to me.”

Through a collection that traverses beauty, art and functionality, Eden comes alive. “I am focused and interested in seeing the African continent from an aerial perspective and have always thought the continent provides the most beautiful moments of beauty in colour and line work - the precision in God’s work; in collaboration with man-created shapes, evident on land but also in our DNA. Thus, the on-going conversation in my work around land patterns and figuration. I specifically focus on land patterns and insisted on their inclusion in this collaboration because I want to emphasise how Africa is the Garden of Eden,” Lulama shares.

WATCH THE SUPERBALIST X LULAMA WOLF BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO BELOW:

Timeless and functional silhouettes serve as a canvas for illustrations that assert the transcendental elements of land, joy and nostalgia. Neutral tones dance from rich browns to serene taupes for the womenswear collection, while distorted figures expand on earthy greens and tranquil blues for homeware. “I used illustrations and drawings that have always been a curiosity in line and figuration, I distorted my figures and included elements recognisable in my artworks. These explorations, the playing, the conceptualising make it easier for me to explore more themes,” Lulama elaborates.

A strong fellowship has long existed between art and fashion; the latter ceaselessly borrowing from the wiser, older sibling. Eden merges the two disciplines in a visual pleasure of contrasting textures, serene palettes and functional design. This meeting of universes is inherent to the collection, as it emerges from a collaborative venture between Lulama and Superbalist. Of collaboration she asserts, “Eden is a world. It is a setting where man, nature and cognisance meet. In its simplest concept, collaboration is that too.  A meshing of elements to make something that is beautiful. Collaboration will forever be an integral part of my practice, whether between materials or minds and platforms.”

She continues: “As the biggest online fashion retailer in South Africa, Superbalist amplifies my focus themes and message by allowing the work to live on in functional pieces. The brand provides the kind of access to art that is usually restricted. In this collection, on this platform; we are marrying art, design and functionality, and sharing that with people who have - for years - engaged with my work.”

Beauty and paradise are often hidden treasures within collaborative spaces, the primary access to them being the convergence of minds and perspectives. Eden speaks to the value of nostalgia, the importance of joy and deep contemplation of the land we occupy as portals of remembrance in finding our way back to the beginning. With prints in the collection bearing names such as Emini (afternoon) , Batho pele (the first)  and Mahlo (eyes) - the story of Eden is a reconvening of Africa, its people, their joy and interaction with land; intentionally designed and expressed in fashion and homeware that captures Mlambo’s version of paradise. Behold, the Garden of ‘Eden’.

“I hope everyone that engages with the pieces takes and makes of it something that reflects their own ideas of paradise,” she concludes optimistically.