Portrait of designer Bonolo Chepape
Design Indaba
Cape Town, South Africa
Designer Bonolo Chepape, who hails from South Africa, was selected by was selected by Design Indaba to take part in our collaborative initiative with Google Arts & Culture, titled Colours of Africa. Africa is known for its bold, unapologetic use of colour. Stories are told in pigments, tones and hues; a kaleidoscope as diverse as the cultures and peoples of the continent. For the initiative, we asked 60 African creatives to capture the unique spirit of their country in a colour which represents home to them. The projects they have created are personal and distinct stories of Africa, put into images, videos, texts and illustrations. Each artist has also attempted to articulate what being African means to their identity and view of the world.
- Title: Portrait of designer Bonolo Chepape
- What it Means to be African: I believe in the beauty that exists in Africa and its cultures. I believe in the preservation of culture and heritage, and in using it as a blueprint that helps me navigate where I’m going but also helps me remember where I come from..
- Subject: Bonolo Chepape
- Rationale: My memory draws back to the well of wealth & knowledge of my late Grand Mother Mmpodu, born in a small village of Mokomene of Pietersburg now called Polokowane . I always say this is the very place that gave birth to Me even though I was born in a small town of Rustenburg many miles away. But I give thanks to my mother for the visits back “HOME” for I would not have been open to the inspiration that a small village lacking in what others might say as everything but in contrast to me it was my everything., rich in the colours of its red terracotta soil, that made and sustained everything from the mud houses to dwell in to the mud clay pots to drink from to the terracotta red stoeps which every house had for kids like myself to play on and polish religiously everyday in order to make them shine. It is in particular my grandmothers stoep that I would be layed to play as the elders carried on with their everyday chores and tasks of the day. And 30 years later I still find this stoep is where I find my solitude even when my grandmother is no longer here. I reminisce of the day light that would make the red stoep colour change, giving the illusion and thought of it maybe being a dark orange and when the sun moved away the shade grew darker subtly hinting that it was now time to go back inside the house to rest. I draw inspiration from the woven blankets that would lie on this stoep for one to occasionally rest on or keep the bossoms warm from tits cold mud and concrete form. The line work and weaving technique that was particularly synonymous with the old Grannys of this region, I find it intriguing that such a simple object like these blankets can have a wealth of knowledge and have been through life, seen generations come and go and also be a mark of womenhood. My Grandmother blanket is what hold dear to my heart even today, a remembrance of strength and perseverance, a remembrance of a whole entire lineage, I inspire to create work that can encompass memories but also are able to find their own place in the world, and be signified with African design, and this African village “HOME” which is my well of knowledge and inspiration in every way.
- Project: Colors of Africa
- Location: South Africa
- Lead Quote: I give thanks to my mother for the visits back ‘home’, for it made me open to the inspiration of a small village. This small village would be called lacking by most, but it was my everything.
- Hex Code: A95348
- Colour Choice: Terracotta Makopane
- Biography: My name is Bonolo Helen Chepape and I’m a 30 year old born and raised in a small mining town of Rustenburg, In North West South Africa. My strong Pedi cultural roots and a fascination for storytelling stems from early childhood visits to my Grandmother’s house in Mokomene, Limpopo. During these visits I was literally surrounded by music, art and story telling which often took place around a fire, it would be stories of long ago, how they danced, the rain Queen Modjaji, the translation and meaning of our clan names, poems and lifes lessons, I believe this lead me into being the creative individual that I am today.
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