Wanted Online - August 2021

wanted A U G U S T

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Cinga Samson, Inyongo 2, 2020

EDITOR.

Firmly set in humanity text

portraits

Siphiwe Mpye

Lesedi Molefi

There has never been any contradiction between being well turned out, having an eclectic palate, and appreciating craft, while having a sense of social parity

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was thrust early into editorship. Barely three years out of journalism kindergarten — under the esteemed care of Dr Aggrey Klaaste, Don Mattera, and other lesserknown but massively pivotal men and women who would fill up this entire page — I was thrown by publisher Larry Katz into the deep end of an experimental co-editorship at Y-Mag, the iconic youth title that changed everything for me and so many people of my generation. I was 25. Three years later, I would doggy paddle into editing Africa’s first-ever independent men’s magazine. I was the youngest person in that role but felt, perhaps for the first time, that my station befitted the graft it had taken to get there.

Following our blood-soaked transition into democracy,

Dr Klaaste had staked his career as editor-in-chief of The Sowetan on the nation-building project. As he crisscrossed the province, speaking to communities such as those of the Kathorus region — in what is now Ekurhuleni — that had been devastated by so-called “Black on Black violence”, he would often drag me along by my wet ears to document these stories.

Even as I write this, I am overcome with emotion as I recall the pained eyes of men the age of my late grandparents recalling the unimaginable horror — and guilt — of losing their entire families overnight after having protected other people’s families.

As I moved from news into arts and culture and the lifestyle-magazine space, my foundation had been firmly set in humanity above all else, and that is the lens

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I have always applied, even as I will be the first to admit a streak of ukuthanda izinto (that enduring isiXhosa term for one’s appreciation for the softer things in life). I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.

There has never been any contradiction between being well turned out, having an eclectic palate, and appreciating craft, while having a sense of social parity.

In fact, as I take over the stewardship of these pages, I see a massive opportunity in bringing these ideas even closer. There has never been a more pointed time to think about luxury in the context of a wider consciousness, a sense of restraint, and the kind of responsibility demanded by a moment heavy with disease, inequality, and upheaval.

As we put this issue to bed, the country limps from

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our most recent trauma, with an all-but-universal call for rebuilding after the unrest that engulfed KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. As with the myriad op-eds that have advocated for the binning of the things in the “old normal” that did not serve humanity, I would table the rebuilding of a more intentional new society, one with acts of neighbourliness and kindness that extend beyond the obligatory Mandela Day posturing. One that meets the reality of privilege not with defensiveness and paralysing guilt but with transformative, sustainable action towards the equitable nation that we all claim to covet. That kind of rebuilding is long-game stuff: sustained, painful, uncomfortable stuff.

In an essay reframing our understanding of excellence — the theme for this issue — the

WA N T E D O N L I N E . C O . Z A

academic, writer and critic Dr Wamuwi Mbao writes: “The horrors of our new century — a gallery that includes Marikana, the killings that triggered Black Lives Matter, rampant food and water insecurity, and other shameful scenes — have exposed how wrong-headed it is to imagine that anything can be generalised about our experiences.” How much of a disservice to marginalised communities is our mindless mimicry of slogans such as “we are in this together” when we know that, as Dr Mbao asserts, our “24 hours are certainly not the same as the 24 hours of someone who doesn’t know where their next meal may come from”? Ours is the kind of complexity that the work of Cinga Samson — one of our featured luminaries flying the SA flag high in the Culture feature — understands well, in its provocative and edifying representation of lack, desire, excess, and pride.

Following a presentation that included a laundry list of the things I would hypothetically introduce to the magazine, were I to get this job, a somewhat exasperated member of my large, esteemed interviewing panel asked: “What do you like about the magazine?”

The answer lies in my weakness for words and beauty. Wanted has always been an incredibly well-written and beautifully presented book. This will not change.

You will see new bylines; the subjects may on occasion be pleasantly unfamiliar, but the images and spaces in between will continue to be beautiful.

My fandom for writers may flip-flop, but my obsession with great writing is unconditional.

I stand for lucid, rhythmic prose, and the words we will present to you will continue to dance, challenge, and inspire.

If there is a singular goal for my time here, it is encapsulated in this month’s theme of excellence. This is a categoryleading title with which you have an emotional connection.

The ancestors willing, it will settle in proudly and thrive on that perch.

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ED’S LETTER

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: Team EDITOR Siphiwe Mpye (mpyes@arena.africa) CREATIVE DIRECTOR Anna Lineveldt (lineveldta@arena.africa) MANAGING EDITOR Suzy Josephson 072 598 9282 (josephsons@arena.africa) JUNIOR DESIGNERS Carike de Jager

and Manelisi Dabata ACTING SUBEDITOR Joey Kok FASHION DIRECTOR Sharon Armstrong (armstrongs@arena.africa) FASHION EDITOR Sahil Harilal BEAUTY EDITOR Nokubonga Thusi (thusin@arena.africa) FASHION INTERN Nombuso Kumalo DÉCOR DIRECTOR Leana Schoeman (leanas@sundaytimes.co.za) GROUP MOTORING EDITOR Denis Droppa (droppad@arena.africa)

FINAL EYE Elizabeth Sleith DESIGN HUB ONLINE EDITOR Stephen Haw (haws@arena.africa) ACTING WANTED ONLINE DIGITAL EDITOR

Tshepo Tshabalala BUSINESS DAY EDITOR Lukanyo Mnyanda PUBLISHER Aspasia Karras (karrasa@arena.africa) HEAD: ADVERTISING SALES EBEN GEWERS CEO Andrew Gill GENERAL MANAGER: LUXURY SALES Yvonne Shaff 082 903 5641 (shaffy@arena.africa) ACCOUNT MANAGER Johannesburg Tamara Nicholson 083 604 0949 (nicholsont@arena.africa) ACCOUNT MANAGER Western Cape Samantha Pienaar 082 889 0366 (pienaars@arena.africa) ACCOUNT MANAGER Durban Gina van de Wall 083 500 5325 (vdwallg@arena.africa)

Dr Wambuwi Mbao makes the case for a new script for excellence

We’re taking note of these 10 African greats in the arts, literature, and architecture

A mutual appreciation: academic Pumla Gqola and filmmaker Xoliswa Sithole in conversation

32 How our shopping trolleys are going digital and phygital

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Hyde Park’s exquisite new café

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Navigator:

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Le Parc by Tashas

Former Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi on wearing the crown during Covid-19

The Spotlight Squad Charlize Theron Misty Copeland Yao Chen

WAT C H E S

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Karl Rogers

Gary Cotterell

COLUMN.

Small and sublime

TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 36mm

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hether you prefer sporting something the size of a mantel clock or a timepiece with a more petite dial, it is entirely your prerogative what you wear on your wrist. It is refreshing though to see that brands are slowly dropping traditional gender classifications of new releases, but it would appear that 2021 is the year for women, with smaller, vintage sizing becoming prevalent among the luxury novelties. TAG Heuer’s new Aquaracer Professional 300 is a case in point with its sporty design features making even the 36mm model masculine enough for a smaller male wrist. There are of course larger 43mm references if you’d prefer to make a bolder statement.

The growing secondary market has no doubt prompted the release of vintage-inspired collections, and this year is no exception with the ’60s and ’70s being a particular focus. Instantly recognisable, this evolution of the Aquaracer takes many of its design cues from the “Ref 844”, Heuer’s first diver’s watch introduced in 1978.

Aquaracer Professional 300 36mm models start a t R 51 2 0 0 . T h i s piece with diamond markers, R60 500

All models feature a new unidirectional rotating bezel with polished ceramic insert, a thinner case, screwdown crown, and new bracelet. Carried over from its predecessor, the reliable, Cosc-certified Calibre 5 automatic movement has a power reserve of around 38 hours. The date window shifts

from its previous position at 3 o’clock to 6 o’clock on new watches, and features an integrated magnifier in the sapphire glass.

The 12-facetted bezel has an updated silhouette, which informed other design elements such as the octagonal hour markers and the 12-sided crown. Crown guards are slimmer but more pronounced.

While these all-terrain luxury sports watches are more elegant, they are made even more robust for everyday use.

Ready for any adventure, they are waterresistant to 300m. An Aquaracer will look good with any attire in the urban jungle or on the wildest of our coastlines.

Each of the references features a new integrated metal-bracelet design with a fine-adjustment system that can extend or reduce the bracelet length by up to 15mm. This means it can be adjusted to be worn over a wetsuit without taking the watch off. Apart from sizing, a distinguishing feature of the three 36mm-stainless-steel models is the wavepattern engraving on their dials — hinting at intended purpose and pursuits. Options include a white dial with black bezel, a black-on-black, and a blue-on-blue model with eight diamond hour markers and polished central bracelet links.

For more information, visit tagheuer.com or call TAG Heuer Boutique on 021 421 8539, 011 784 7422, 031 566 4452

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ESCAPE TO PARADISE Elegant yet casual, with water resistance up to 100m, the Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Pastel Paradise Capsule Collection is the perfect

choice for a woman who cares about her style even while at the beach.

Produced in limited release, the five new novelties are presented for the first time in 38mm size. The palette includes a summer white, aquamarine, mint green, and iced latte — all with tone-on-tone dials, bezels, and straps — and a rainbow model on tangerine strap.

Starting at R87 100. breitling. com or 011 883 2286.

SECONDS COUNT Omega has introduced a Small Seconds subdial to its elegant and versatile Seamaster Aqua Terra. There are 10 new 38mm models and nine 41mm models in stainless steel, or a blend of steel and 18kt Sedna gold, with dial options including dark green, light green, linen, and extra white mother-ofpearl. Luxury versions of the Seamaster Aqua Terra Small Seconds have hour markers and small seconds halo set with diamonds. Powered by Omega’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8802 (38mm) and Calibre 8916 (41mm), and water resistance to 150m. From around R117 000. omegawatches.com

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SEEING RED The unusual pebble-like case and lugs of the Ressence Type 1 Slim are milled from a single block of gradefive titanium, which give it a sleek, modern silhouette.

Presented this year in brilliant red with a matching rubber strap, the watch has no crown; instead, it is wound and adjusted by a recessed lever that flips out from its caseback. The 42mm Type 1 Slim displays the time using the Ressence Orbital Convex System, a revolutionary mechanical mechanism where hours, minutes, seconds, and weekdays orbit each other in a single plane.

Limited production, around R260 000. ressencewatches.com

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NEWS

IMAGES SUPPLIED

All things bright and beautiful, all motors great and small, our watch guy Gary Cotterell has a penchant for them all

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OBJET

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Judd van Rensburg

deeply

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Mpondo bag, R3 441, Inga Atelier

Start a love affair with the Umendo Collection — umendo meaning marriage in isiXhosa — by Inga Atelier

STOCKIST INGA ATELIER INGA-ATELIER.COM

Truly, madly

THE GOODS

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Brendon Petersen

LEVEL UP Elevate your gaming experience with these next-level gadgets GAMING MONITOR

Turtle Beach is known for its industry-leading gaming headsets, which makes this new “Designed For Xbox” Recon Controller a bit of an unusual offering from them. According to the company, it has “enhanced audio features for Xbox Series X & S, Xbox One and Windows 10”.

Xbox controllers are usually viewed as some of the best gaming controllers available, which means that Turtle Beach needs to bring its A-game in order to entice gamers. The Recon Controller is equipped with Pro-Aim Focus Mode, ergonomic cooling grips, mappable quickaction buttons and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

If that’s not enough, it also boasts a superhuman-hearing sound setting to help you hear when enemies try to sneak up on you in a game, the ability to customise your game audio with one of four EQ presets, and dual rumble motors in the triggers and handles to enhance the immersive experience of the game. R1 299, apexint.co.za

Having the ultimate gaming laptop is great, but the odds are that you’ll want an equally impressive monitor, especially if you’re going to be streaming on Twitch.

When shopping for a new gaming monitor, look for one with a refresh rate of at least 75Hz (higher is better) and a response time of no more than 5ms (lower is better). LG’s UltraGear 32GN600 is a flat 31.5-inch Quad-HD monitor that exceeds all of these requirements. Not only

LG UltraGear 32GN600

Turtle Beach Recon Controller

does the 2 560 x 1 440 anti-glare display boast a 165Hz refresh rate, but it also has 1ms Motion Blur Reduction (MBR), sRGB 95%, HDR10 and AMD FreeSync Premium. A great monitor is nothing without sufficient ports and, thankfully, the LG UltraGear has two HDMI ports, one Display Port, and a headphone jack.

No need to worry about cables as LG ships both an HDMI and a DisplayPort with the monitor.

This might not be the most highly specced gaming monitor that money can buy, but you’re getting an impressive set of features for a very competitive price. R8 539, takealot.com IMAGES SUPPLIED

CONTROLLER

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GAMING KEYBOARD

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Logitech G Pro

Logitech has long been known for its industry-leading gaming accessories and peripherals, and the Logitech G Pro Gaming Keyboard is a perfect example of that. Featuring GX Blue clicky mechanical switches, a compact tenkeyless design, 1ms report rate, programmable lightsync RGB lighting and a 1.8m detachable micro-USB cable, this keyboard is made for gamers looking to level up their experience.

There are 12 programmable F Keys (you’ll need to download Logitech’s G Hub for this), as well as rubber feet and three-step

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GAMING LAPTOP

Asus Zephyrus Duo 15 SE

adjustment to help you remain centred when the gaming gets tough. The keyboard is compatible with PCs and laptops running Windows 7 and above or MacOS 10.11 and above.

R2 299, computermania.co.za

If you’re looking for a gaming laptop that packs bleeding-edge specs, eye-catching design, and more bells and whistles than you could ever dream of then the Zephyrus Duo 15 SE is what you need.

Underneath the restrained (by gaming standards) design, you’ll find an overclockable 8-core AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX

CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, 32GB of DDR4 memory, and 2TB of lightning-fast RAID 0 SSD. This super-specced device also comes with the option of either a FHD 300Hz display or a 4K panel with a 120Hz refresh rate — both of which are Pantone validated. Making this even more impressive is the addition of the ROG ScreenPad Plus secondary display, which can be used for gaming controls or for programs such as Photoshop or Lightroom.

Usually, I’d advise on getting a pair of great gaming headphones such as the ROG Strix Go Core, but thanks to the quad speakers and Dolby Atmos surround sound on this machine, you won’t need them.

Rounding this up are more ports than you can think of (including a micro-SD card reader) and a 90Wh battery with 100W USB-C charging.

From R59 999, evetech.co.za

Grey ceramic case with integrated bracelet.

In-house UNICO chronograph movement.

GROOMING

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Nokubonga Thusi

hile the world has been strongly suggesting we have some time apart, Ralph Lauren’s latest fragrance encourages us to come together. Inspired

by House of Lauren’s one-night-only Fall 2019 fashion experience, Ralph’s Club is, for one, an olfactory admission to the best night of your life in the world of Ralph Lauren. It mixes

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Ralph Lauren Ralph’s Club EDP 100ml, R2 080; available from 16 August a modern-day, quintessential New York nightlife with the flair of the 1920s. Made for mavericks of style and tastemakers, this aromatic, woody scent creation by master perfumer Dominique Ropion is a balanced, warm yet rich juice, housed in a sleek gunmetal flask. It features notes of lavandin, grapefruit, clary sage, and orange blossom and base notes of Virginia cedarwood, Haitian vetiver, patchouli, and cashmeran.

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he seventh addition for men to the Louis Vuitton fragrance universe, Imagination, is master perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud’s ode to the luxurious perfumery ingredient Ambrox, a molecule present in its natural state in ambergris. Created in Cavallier’s atelier at Les Fontaines Parfumées in the French-perfume capital Grasse, Imagination will take you on a world tour with its unique blend of ingredients from across the globe. The fragrance comprises notes of Calabrian bergamot, Sicilian cedar, Tunisian neroli, Nigerian ginger, Ceylon cinnamon, a rare and precious black tea from China, guaiac wood, and incense. Louis

Vuitton Imagination EDP 100ml, R4 000; 200ml, R6 000; available from Louis Vuitton Sandton City, Johannesburg, and V&A Waterfront, Cape Town

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N AT U R A L LY BRIT

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ho said that traditional barbering was dead? Certainly not Hawkins & Brimble, a UK natural-grooming brand that puts a modern twist on old-school barber rituals.

They certainly

aren’t splurge items but, after experiencing the super-calming, luxury, spa-like elemi and ginseng scent, you may feel like you’ve spent

a pretty penny.

Now available in SA, Hawkins & Brimble is quintessentially British and inspires pride in masculine traditions with

a curation of shaving and beard-, hair-, body-, and skincare products.

The best part? The brand allows you to look good while doing good by

your skin and the planet; all formulas are made with natural ingredients that exclude nasties such as parabens, colourants, SLS/ SLE, GMOs, and mineral oils and are free from animal testing.

Hawkins & Brimble Beard Oil 50ml, R229; Hawkins & Brimble After Shave Balm 125ml, R199; Hawkins & Brimble Conditioner 250ml, R159; Hawkins & Brimble Beard Shampoo 250ml, R299

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T H E A R T O F

I M A G I N A T I O N

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Lukanyo Mnyanda

Manelisi Dabata

M Lukanyo Mnyanda is the editor of Business Day

COLUMN.

y defence when I’ve — rightly — been accused of not being able to switch off is that news is never on holiday. I didn’t realise how deep my ailment was until a friend asked on social media for recommendations on podcasts to help her sleep.

I recommended “The Intelligence” from The Economist, a great way to keep in touch with the big events of the day, some of which wouldn’t necessarily have made big headlines. You were supposed to suggest something

Thanh Nguyen. As the US was preparing to retreat from its costly military misadventure in Afghanistan, it also felt like the opportune moment to be reading this book, first published in 2015, about a communist sleeper agent who infiltrates would-be counterrevolutionaries in the aftermath of the US’ defeat in Vietnam. As I was reading, one of the key architects of the war in Afghanistan, Donald Rumsfeld — who famously gave us phrases such as “known unknowns” and “unknown unknowns” — died. That may

News is never on holiday Even when reading for pleasure, this workaholic stays on the job

not work-related, someone responded to my post.

No surprise, then, that during a recent holiday in Scotland, the reading material didn’t consist of romantic coming-of-age novels. I’m not much of a travel writer either, and there’s little I can say about the Isle of Arran other than that its winding roads and pine trees at times made me think I was in Mpumalanga. Arran is different, of course, not least because it’s an island with some historical castles (the ones I saw) dating back to the 13th century.

And it was a great setting for finishing The Sympathizer

by Pulitzer Prize-winner Viet

well be the conclusion so far, as journalists, the first drafters of history, debate whether Vietnam has been America’s biggest disaster yet.

Nguyen’s book has hints of George Orwell classics Animal Farm and 1984, though it can be hard work at times.

By the end, the protagonist may have lost faith in the cause (something that might become clear in the followup, The Committed), lamenting revolutionaries who profess that there’s nothing more important than independence and freedom, while taking away that autonomy from their vanquished fellow citizens.

I next turned to The Powerful and the Damned by Lionel Barber. It is quite fitting that the first person mentioned in the book is Dean Acheson, credited with being among the most influential drafters of US foreign policy during the Cold War. Barber’s book covers more recent historical events, specifically between 2005 and 2020, when he was editor of the Financial Times.

Among his personal favourites is an interview with Vladimir Putin, who declares the end of liberal democracy. The arrest of former president Jacob Zuma, who also gets a mention in the book, may have plunged South Africa into its worst-ever postapartheid crisis, but our country may well be the example that shows Putin’s victory declaration to be premature.

Barber’s storytelling — history in snippets — has its strengths and weaknesses. So many books have been written about former president Thabo Mbeki, yet Barber is able to sum him up perfectly in about a page. His interview with Alex Ferguson, on the other hand, leaves you wanting more. The former Manchester United manager says he identifies with the underdogs in the American Civil War. Those would be the racists who wanted to maintain slavery. These are clearly the superficial words of a sportsperson rather than an

expression of political beliefs, though the Arsenal fan in me is loath to give Ferguson the benefit of the doubt.

In Barber’s time as editor — most of which I spent in the UK observing the same things, from the back rather than the front row — he endorsed the Conservative Party, twice, despite being clearly unimpressed by the ability and substance of David Cameron, the PR man who called a referendum on the country’s EU membership and lost. It might have been a case of ideology trumping good judgment. The editor who took on those behind Germany’s biggest fraud scandal is strangely soft on Cameron, even brushing aside his borderline racist reference to Indian immigrants as taxi drivers. Most stereotypes of Indian immigrants tend to involve doctors and software engineers. The accounts of the FT’s digital transformation will, of course, be of particular interest to journalists and editors. The part about the newspaper suing Blackstone, one of the richest private-equity firms, for sharing passwords to allow multiple — in other words non-paying — users to access its content will amuse a broader audience. While neither book is flimsy holiday reading, they are by no means boring. History can be fun too.

STYLE NOTES

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ocal designer Thebe Magugu’s first full menswear collection pays homage to the brave men and women fighting against the political corruption that plagues our continent. Fresh off the Pitti Uomo global stage, Magugu’s “Doublethink” SS22 menswear collection (referencing Mandy Wiener’s book The Whistleblowers and a term used in George Orwell’s novel 1984 for accepting two mutually contradictory beliefs) is an urgent cry for recourse and a triumphant salute to a few good men. Western-cowboy silhouettes are paired with Magugu’s signature tailoring. The collection also boasts denim and linen fabrications featuring famous illustrations such as “SA Body Politic” and “Zuma Must Fall” by the political cartoonist Jonathan Zapiro as headlining prints.

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Circebracelet bracelet R950 Circe R950

thebemagugu.com

e’ve never met a Pichulik accessory piece that we didn’t like. And at this rate, the new Circe FW21 collection from the much-loved brand can take all our coins. Taking inspiration from one of Greek mythology’s most notorious protagonists — Circe, who was condemned for not following societal norms and refusing to accept the imposed inferiority complex of women — the collection serves as a call for women to bond through sharing their experiences.

Earrings, bracelets, and necklaces delight in the common design thread of rings

and links that portray the binding power of nature and connection, combining elements of polished brass, rope, jade, obsidian gemstones, and lava. pichulik.com

Earrings from left: Calypso R850; Lionheart R1 350; Ithaca R850

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STYLE NOTES

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Art and handbag craftsmanship collide as local luxury-accessories brand Missibaba and contemporary artist Georgina Gratrix collaborate on a handbag collection that celebrates a mutual love of striking colour and unexpected textures.

Each bag is as unique and engaging as one of Gratrix’s painterly floral artworks, drawing from the shapes and forms of the flowers, while keeping a distinct sense of humour and fun. The bags are handcrafted, individually coloured, editioned, and designed to be a unique wearable sculpture — expect every bag to be a conversation piece.

e battled with science and the periodic table, but when it comes to perfumery, hydrogen is definitely our favourite element. We know and love Johannesburg-based perfumer Leigh-Anne Drakes for her unconventional use of abstract, sometimes even obscure, notes in her perfumes (and quirky, humour-laden scent names). The latest addition from Apartment is no different.

Hydrogen Is My Favourite Element is a unisex, airy mix of contrasts that is as nuanced as it is innovative; think notes of cathedral incense, Bic ink, woods, dust, musk, and moss.

Hydrogen Is My Favourite Element EDP 50ml R1 490, aptaptapt.co

H I G H O N H Y D R O G E N

missibaba.com

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To u c h

environskincare.com

Calling all skincare-lovers! Your products give your skin the best. So give your products the best too, with the Chick Cosmetics mini beauty fridge (part of the Pastel Dreams collection) that is even more desirable in a new pastelyellow colourway. Not only is this mini fridge portable — ideal for prolonging the lifespan of your favourite creams, serums, masks, facial tools, and nail polishes — but it’s eco-friendly too, using 80% less energy than traditional fridges with thermoelectric power. Just think of that satisfying sensation of applying chilled eye cream to puffy eyes or calming inflammation with a cooled-just-right sheet mask. Skin Bar Mini Beauty Fridge in Mellow Yellow R1 950, chickcosmetics.com

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e all know the frustration of living in a no-touch world.

As a testament to that, local luxurybrand owner Kat van Duinen and acclaimed Cape Town-based photographer Gavin Goodman have put all our tumultuous emotions into an elegant visual story in their latest campaign collaboration featuring her son Frédéric. The campaign visually removes our senses to convey feelings of solitude, isolation, depression, and yearning for sensory stimulation that have been all too familiar in this pandemic. Even though they were photographed wrapped in plastic or held by sterile gloves, every exotic leather bag — from the aubergine-coloured weekender and the crocodile and python crossbodies to the ostrich mini-bags and totes — showcases the marvel that is Van Duinen’s craftsmanship. katvanduinen.com

IMAGES KRISTIN-LEE MOOLMAN, GEORGINA GRATRIX AND MISSIBABA; GAVIN GOODMAN & SUPPLIED

f the stress of the past year-and-ahalf is starting to show on your skin, you might need some help.

Thankfully, Environ has just the thing.

The brand’s first-of-its-kind overnight booster serum 03. targets the long-term effects of stress while you sleep.

The Focus Care Youth+ Seriénce™ Night Serum formulates the powerful benefits of the malachite gemstone into a malachite-neuropeptide complex that works to protect, reset, and relax the skin at a cellular level every night. Enjoy the cooling gel formula that your skin will instantly drink up and look out for the youthful, luminous glow come morning. Environ Focus Care Youth+ Seriénce™ Night Serum 30ml, R995,

L I V E YO U R PA S S I O N HIGHLIFE L ADIES AU TO M AT I C S PA R K L I N G For further information contact Picot & Moss (011) 669-0500. www.picotandmoss.co.za

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We need an alternative narrative for greatness now that life has been turned on its head by the uncertain collective moment of anxiety we’re inhabiting

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t started in the coffee shop.

You may have your own scene — selecting the right bread, choosing the correct wine to pair with dinner — but this is my story of dissent.

It started there because choosing what to buy in a coffee shop brings out a rank anxiety in me. This is not a rant about choice. Choice is marvellous.

The alternative is horrendous. But with choice comes the fear that I will choose something terrible. Coffee, as with all things we consume for enjoyment, must be excellent.

If I were to choose a bad coffee, the fault would be mine. Naturally, rather than deliberating over a number of equally mysterious alternatives, I could ask for a recommendation from the barista, placing my fate in the hands of a qualified representative of the product I was purchasing. But then it would be his excellence being affirmed, not mine. The ritual of choosing coffee in that moment feels like nothing less than a profession of expertise at life. It says that all the decisions you make from then on will be of the same order of excellence.

I felt that if I failed at this task and ended up with a cup of steaming dishwater, it would be my fault. If it was my fault, then the failure would be a microcosmic illustration of greater and more serious failings on my part.

From our earliest days, we are exhorted to work towards excellence. It’s chestpuffery drawn from the specialised world of competitive sports into public life. The script tells us that excellence is the result of hard work. Being susceptible to the allure of praise and acknowledgement, the logic we extract from this dictum

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A NEW SCRIPT FOR EXCELL is that if we work hard, we will achieve success, be lauded by our peers, and cheered on by our loved ones.

One ought to ask what excellence really means. One answer is that excellence belongs to the order of appraisal; it assumes with monodirectional conviction that the results of your work will be quantifiable, and that there will be a point where we can declare that we have achieved the objective, even though that objective is constantly shifting. There is always a better car, a nicer watch, a more impressive house to come.

Not to worry. Conventional models of aspirational living say that if you define your goals in personal terms, you are, in fact, still being excellent. There is no corner of life where you are not urged

I see this everywhere in society: workshops, seminars, and countless books on how to master new skills, perform existing tasks in your own life with the excellence of an American marine (this seems to consist of waking up at an hour disruptive to the rest of your household), or approach your business life in the manner of a taxdodging venture capitalist. But if you’re not planning to overthrow a country or fly to space in your own rocket, how will these models of excellence have any application to your life? And is it really satisfying to live as a locust does, endlessly accumulating and moving onto the next thing until death? How can such a generalised idea of excellence work when very real and often quite

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LENCE ENCE towards the pursuit of excellence. It turns us into our own managers and insists that we are ultimately responsible for our success or failure. The fact that excellence is never clearly defined is what makes it so easily applicable: think of motivational posters, and how meaningless they become if you read them properly. The vagueness is the point. Of course, this is why excellence has found such great purchase in the professional arena, where it provides great filler for mission statements. Excellence proposes itself as a kind of abstraction that can be used to measure the performance of very different objects. But since all of us have very different life experiences informing what we do in the world, the abstraction required to fit into a model of excellence becomes almost laughably arbitrary.

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Dr Wamuwi Mbao

specific factors stop you, thwart you or hold you back? When you think of it this way, excellence becomes a kind of fundamentalism, and fundamentalisms are wholly inadequate models for living life.

Excellence, then, is not an accommodating idea for everyone. It’s an inflexibly absolutist model of the world, like all dogmas. And if you don’t accept dogmatic truths anywhere in life (imagine being told that a particular watch brand is the best, or that you should only wear purple), then why should you accept it when it comes to how you direct your life’s purpose?

The pandemic, for all its very real and calamitous consequences, has also incited people to think about the status quo and the deprivations it wreaks on the spirit.

A year-and-a-half into a situation that shows no sign of being alleviated anytime soon, I find excellence increasingly difficult to invest in because it seems grounded in a sentimental idea of the world as a place where one can, through the force of one’s spirit, surmount every challenge and defeat every obstacle. This is the world according to the risible Ayn Rand (the Jordan Peterson of early 20th-century literature), where drowning is the result of your failure to swim and not the intractability of circumstance.

Such sociopathic thinking ignores how the inequities that underpin society — think of the urban violence we witnessed in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng — entangle us collectively even as we would wish to disassociate from them.

The horrors of our new century — a gallery that includes Marikana, the killings that triggered Black Lives Matter, rampant food and water insecurity, and other shameful scenes — have exposed how wrongheaded it is to imagine that anything can be generalised about our experiences. When moronic people tell us that “we all have the same 24 hours”, it’s easy to ignore the chasmic difference between our various 24 hours. My 24 hours are certainly not the same as the 24 hours of someone who doesn’t know where their next meal may come from. I often despair for how little time I spend striving to be better at something, filling my hours with contemplating whether I should have bought the evil-but-effective dishwasher pods instead of the polite-but-feeble organic ones.

The traditional script for excellence would have me feel bad about my moments of idleness, but that script is one I’m finding harder and harder to keep to. Now that life has been turned on its head by the uncertain collective moment of anxiety we are inhabiting, excellence just isn’t the lure it used to be.

What incitement is there to procure the best cup of coffee when a stranger’s unmasked cough might render all that work for nought? We’ve had the time to accustom ourselves to the ongoing emergency, which has made me realise that the pursuit of excellence involves a lot of unseen emotional labour. As the first year of the pandemic unfolded, I looked around me at what I was seeing: people putting up a brave front, mastering sourdough (once only the province of excellent professional bakers), laughing ruefully in Zoom meetings. Even calamities can be added to the register of excellence, depending on how well you prove your adaptability.

What I wasn’t seeing was anything that acknowledged the resources you needed to have to succeed at the strange competition the pandemic had become. Even as think-pieces started to appear about resilience in the face of pandemic fatigue, and workplaces rushed to absorb the often-vacuous language of self-care, the old ghost was still asserting itself: show us how you’re managing yourself! Secure your collapse and get back to living! So, I went looking for the people who were not performing their pandemic survival as a kind of gleeful boast. The results were daunting but gratifying. I found that there are indeed people who are not willing to recuperate not-being-okay as another quantifiable measure of personal success. When excellence too often feels like someone else’s random representation of how the world works, what is needed is a new script for living.

Rewriting the script takes time, naturally. I’m choosing to begin by treating myself with more compassion. I’m learning that the anxiety, guilt, despair, irritability, and other converging feelings that accompany life need not be personal failings reflecting a lack of ability. I’m making room for a more imaginative way of living in the world, one that doesn’t disregard excellence but chooses to expand what it means to fit around the unevenness that is life in the present. I make my own coffee most days.

Sometimes it’s less than excellent. Such is life.

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CULTURE CLUB text

Tymon Smith

A bunch of extraordinarily talented South Africans, and one Nigerian, enthusing audiences in Mzansi and abroad

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auction house Phillips’ 20th century and contemporary sale in New York. It’s the culmination of a run of acclaim and international attention that the 34-year-old artist has

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coolly elegant portraits of white-pupiled figures against surreal backgrounds, Samson’s work is deeply influenced by his upbringing near Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. In his early

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been enjoying over the last few years. He held his first solo show in New York past year, earned a significant interview in The New York Times. Known for his striking, ethereal, and

Cinga Samson

visual artist

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ape Town-born painter Cinga Samson, who grew up in the Eastern Cape, smashed records recently when his work Two Piece 1 sold for $300 000 at

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20s, he was part of the Isibane artists’ collective in Cape Town before catching the attention of the influential Blank Projects gallery, where from 2015 he showed consistently and to much acclaim and interest from collectors before landing a spot with the prestigious contemporary French art dealer Emmanuel Perrotin, whose New York gallery presented his solo show Amadoda Akafani, Afana Ngeentshebe Zodwa (Men Are Different Though They Look Alike) last year. He’s now represented worldwide

by White Cube in London.

Although influenced by the place he comes from, Samson is carving a space for himself on the tough-to-break-into international art scene because of his commitment, as he told The New York Times, to not be “an artist that feeds Western fantasies about what Africa is”.

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angwanasha is 27 years old and the latest in a long line of South African-born performers to blow the socks off the international opera world after she was announced as the winner of this year’s Song Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.

It’s the culmination of an award-winning and eventful few years for Rangwanasha, who started singing at school and church at a young age

1. Knoxville: Summer of 1915

2. Song Prize at BBC Cardiff Singer Of

The World 2021

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Thuso Mbedu

actress

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huso Mbedu grew up in the suburb of Pelham in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZuluNatal. As a young girl afflicted with allergies, Mbedu thought she might like to grow up to become the first member of her family to practise as a doctor. Her mother died when she was only four years old, and Mbedu and her sister were raised by their grandmother who would have loved nothing better than for her granddaughter to go into medicine.

But Mbedu’s fate would be different, as the acting bug bit while she was in high school.

She eventually convinced her grandmother that acting was her destiny, and off she went to Johannesburg to study drama at Wits.

While still a student, Mbedu began landing television roles in series such as Isibaya, the teen drama Snake Park, and then a major role in Is’thunzi, for which she earned two International Emmy nominations, in 2017 and 2018.

While in the United States for the International Emmy Awards show in 2018, Mbedu was encouraged by her agent to submit an audition tape for what turned out to be Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins’ epic miniseries The Underground Railroad.

The rest is history as Mbedu went on to land the starring role in Jenkins’ adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel

by Colson Whitehead that tells the story of her character

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1. Les Blancs The Whites 2. The Underground Railroad 3. Is’thunzi

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Cora’s treacherous journey from bondage to freedom in the antebellum South. Critically acclaimed as one of the most significant and singular television events in recent memory, and for the emotional complexity of Mbedu’s lead performance, the show unfortunately did not secure Mbedu the Emmy nomination many felt she deserved.

That hasn’t stopped her though, as she’s now busy preparing to star alongside Oscar-winner Viola Davis in director Gina PrinceBythewood’s epic drama about the legendary women warriors of the Dahomey Kingdom.

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Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha

before honing her craft at University of Cape Town and the Tshwane University of Technology.

After winning several awards at competitions in South Africa and abroad, Rangwanasha returned to South Africa, where she sang soprano solo in Verdi’s Requiem with the Oude Libertas Choir in Stellenbosch in 2019 and was nominated for Best Singer in the category at the Woordfees in the same year.

John Gilhooly, chair of the judges of the Singer of the World, says that while the competition was characterised by outstanding performances from all the finalists, “sadly there could be only one winner and Masabane performed with such assured technique and emotional power that the jury was unanimous in naming her the winner”.

She will now go on to join the ensemble of the prestigious Bern Staatsoper for two years.

If her performance in Cardiff is anything to go by, opera fans are guaranteed to be hearing a lot more from the talented singer in the coming seasons.

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Busisiwe Ntintili

film and television writer and producer

he grew up in the Pretoria suburb of Laudium, but it’s the pull, push, and history of Johannesburg that’s provided the inspiration for the multidisciplinary and celebrated work of 31-year-old architect Sumayya Vally.

Introduced to the bustle of Johannesburg during childhood visits to her grandfather’s inner-city store, Vally developed a keen interest in the contradictions between the city’s grand colonial architectural projections and the realities of the life of informal traders and workers carrying on in its streets.

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romantic comedy Happiness is a Four-letter Word, which stars and was written and produced by only Black women.

Now, Ntintili has reached a new major global audience with the production of Jiva!, a vibrant, colourful, and 100% local dance drama series that was released on Netflix last month.

Inspired by a generation of young South Africans she describes as “go-getters, hustlers, and entrepreneurs who are actively sharing their creative talents to the world over social media and on the streets of their communities”, Jiva! has already proved a hit with local and international audiences and is set to put Ntintili and her co-creators firmly on the road to success.

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he child of South African exiles, Busisiwe Ntintili grew up in New Jersey, where she would watch hours of television to entertain herself while her busy parents were pursuing their academic careers.

She was still young when she started writing poems and plays, and it was through her exposure to US television classics such as The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy and the burgeoning AfricanAmerican talent of performers in shows including In Living Colour and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air that Ntintili discovered her love of the medium and her calling.

She studied literature and film at university in the United States before returning to South Africa and landing a job in advertising before working her way into the hallowed halls of television production with a gig on the first Big Brother SA. Since then, she’s never looked back and has won numerous awards for her writing on shows such as Intersexions and the hugely popular and successful

Sumayya Vally

architect

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1. Man on Ground

2. Vaya

3. The Ghost and the House of Truth

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Akin Omotoso Filmmaker

orn in Nigeria, Akin Omotoso began his long and committed career in the world of film as an actor on South African television shows in the 1990s before directing his debut feature, God is African, a 1999 drama examining the realities of life for African migrants in Johannesburg.

Omotoso went on to direct numerous television shows for South African broadcasters and to champion the rights of local filmmakers before earning popular success with his 2010 Maboneng-set romantic comedy Tell Me Sweet Something.

Maboneng is of course one of the recently developed trendy spots in the City of Gold.

His subsequent multicharacter examination of the life of homeless people on the streets of Johannesburg, the drama Vaya, was the only South African film to be selected for the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, where it gained significant international attention before being picked up in 2018 for international distribution by American filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s company Array.

In 2020, Omotoso was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which selects the winners of the Oscars. In

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the same year, it was announced that Netflix had commissioned its first original Nigerian series, conceived and directed

by Omotoso and several other leading lights of Nigerian cinema. Little has been revealed so far about the project, but it is known that it has six parts, is set in present-day Nigeria, was shot in Lagos, and is currently in post-production.

As if that weren’t enough to keep Omotoso busy, his next project will unite the two great loves of his life, basketball and filmmaking, as he brings to screen the remarkable

life story of Milwaukee Bucks NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo for Disney +.

Antetokounmpo was born in Greece to Nigerian parents and through his basketball prowess raised himself and his family out of the poverty of their hard lives as undocumented immigrants in Greece.

In a recent Instagram post, Omotoso said that the biopic was his chance to deliver on his promise to himself that if he were ever to “make a basketball film, it would be a story that talks as much about life as it does about basketball”.

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After studying architecture at the University of Pretoria and Wits, Vally and a group of her peers established the architectural practice Counterspace.

These young architects had grown disillusioned with the disconnect between the first-world ideas they’d been taught and the more complex realities evident in the urban areas of a post-apartheid South Africa coming to terms with the effects of apartheid’s brutal segregationist city planning.

The group began to attract attention for a number of interesting engagements in the city focusing on the glaring inequalities of Johannesburg’s architectural legacy before landing one of global architecture’s most sought-after commissions — to design the Serpentine Gallery pavillion in London. Vally is the youngest architect to be accorded this prestigious honour, joining the likes of world-renowned architects such as Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid.

Her work on mine dumps and their effects on the physical and social environment of Johannesburg has also resulted in a singular pigment-based mirror installation, Folded Skies, which was first exhibited at the Spier Light Art Festival in Stellenbosch in 2018 and is now on view in Johannesburg at the Johannesburg Contemporary Art Foundation as part of its new exhibition Liminal Identities in the Global South, which features work by renowned women artists from South Africa, Latin America, and Africa.

Counterspace’s Serpentine installation is attracting favourable buzz. It’s only the beginning for Vally and her team as they continue their mission to produce work that is distinctive and influenced by the realities of life in the City of Gold and the wide array of people who live in it.

CULTURE

Koleka Putuma

Amnesia from original publishers uHlanga Press, so Putuma is now in the rare position of being a writer who owns the rights to her own intellectual property.

Manyano Media has also just published Putuma’s muchanticipated second poetry collection — Hullo, Bu-Bye, Koko, Come In — which takes its title from the Queen of African Pop Brenda Fassie’s 1992 song Istraight Lendaba and continues its author’s dedication to “go straight to the heart of tackling the legacies of Black femme erasure from society as well as the arts”.

poet, writer, playwright

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Sibongile Mngoma

vocalist

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here isn’t much in the world of letters that 28-year-old Koleka Putuma hasn’t excelled at in her enviable rise through the ranks of the South African literary establishment. Her 2017 collection of poetry, Collective Amnesia, has sold 8 300 copies (and still counting), with 14 print runs, and is also a prescribed text in several university curricula.

Putuma, whose roots lie in performance poetry, first came to mainstream attention when she won the 2014 National Poetry Slam Competition. Her poem Water won the 2016 PEN South Africa Student Writing Prize. Her debut collection the following year earned plaudits both at home and abroad and has been translated into Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, and German — with French, Italian, and Portuguese in the works. Her play No Easter Sunday for Queers won the Distell National Playwright Competition in 2018 and debuted at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg the following year.

A fierce proponent of queer rights, the struggle for decolonisation, and the battle to end the legacy of apartheid, Putuma is also a canny entrepreneur whose multidisciplinary creative company, Manyano Media, was established last year to champion the work of Black womxn and queer artists.

Manyano Media also announced last year that it had secured the rights to Collective

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he face of the recent performance- and music-filled sit-ins to protest the mismanagement of the National Arts Council’s Covid-19-relief fund for the arts, singer Sibongile Mngoma is a versatile vocalist who has performed across a wide range of genres on stages across the globe.

Although she initially studied law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, it was always her destiny to fulfil the “natural diva” tag she’d been given from a young age. In 1993, she began training as an opera singer at the South African College of Music.

Since then, she’s studied in Italy, performed on stages there, and also in South Africa and London, where she performed in the Two Nations Celebrate concert for Nelson Mandela and the Queen.

Mngoma is the winner of a Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Music and FNB Vita Award for Best Opera Female Lead.

As one observer recently noted, the National Arts Council should’ve been focussed on getting Mngoma back on stages rather than forcing her to take centre stage as a campaigner for artists’ rights, but she’s always been a generous engager with other artists and firmly dedicated, through her extensive teaching work, to passing on skills to the new generation of South Africa’s impressive singing talent.

Most recently she did manage to get back on stage — even if it was only a virtual one — for a programme of jazz and opera music presented as part of this year’s online National Arts Festival offering, which included a selection of works paying tribute to her aunt and mentor, the legendary impresario Sibongile Khumalo, who passed away earlier this year. As things in the performance arena gradually return to normal, you can be sure that Mngoma will be gracing plenty of opera and musical stages in the coming months.

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The BLK JKS

Loyiso Gola

musicians

comedian

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hen original members — vocalist Linda Buthelezi, guitarist Mpumelelo Mcata, bassist Molefi Makananise, and drummer Tshepang Ramoba — first burst onto the scene as The BLK JKS (pronounced Black Jacks) back in the mid2000s, their unique blend of art rock, traditionally inspired rhythms, and anguished, haunting vocals caused a sensation on local and international stages.

They toured all the coolest festivals on the global circuit, were signed by pioneering record label Secretly Canadian, and produced a critically hailed 2009 debut album, After Robots.

Then life seemed to get

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in the way and, while the band released a few EPs and continued to perform as part of different groups, they never quite seemed to manage to deliver on the promise of their initial whirlwind success.

It didn’t help that vocalist Buthelezi departed in 2012 and the rest of the members went on to fulfil ordinary roles in the cycle of life, such as fatherhood and breadwinning.

After several attempts to get things together for the recording of a follow-up album, the remaining members of the band, together with newcomer, trumpeter Tebogo Seitei, finally found themselves in the orchestra pit of the Soweto Theatre in 2018, working on long-awaited material for a new album. They’d built a studio specifically for the purpose, and all seemed to be on track until they returned to the orchestra pit one day to find that it had been burgled and all their equipment, including the

2. After Robots

tracks, stolen. This was a crushing experience and one that might have killed off the ambitions of many other bands in the same situation. But after some serious soul searching, The BLK JKS brushed themselves off and returned to studio in 2019 to record the material for their new album, Abantu/Before Humans, released in South Africa last year and now hitting international platforms it seems, judging by the critical and audience reception, that 12 years has been just long enough for their dedicated fans to wait.

More complex, mature, and diverse in its range of influences and collaborators, the album is a wondrous thing for the ears to hear and has provided the much-needed spark for the energised live reappearance of The BLK JKS on local and international stages in the coming months — and hopefully much more new music in the future.

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he Covid-19 pandemic may have jammed a spanner in the works of Loyiso Gola’s increasingly busy UK and international touring schedule, but he didn’t spend the lockdown idling in depression.

Rather, he went to the Zeitz MOCAA museum in Cape Town in the middle of the pandemic to film the first Netflix special by an African comedian — Unlearning — produced under Covid-19 protocols and released on the streaming giant’s platform in March this year.

A familiar and much-loved comedy legend in South Africa for many years thanks to his live shows and appearances in the seminal local TV series The Pure Monate Show and his subsequent role as host of the satirical news show Late Nite News, Gola has always been a smart and ambitious creator of his own career opportunities.

After the end of Late Nite News, he started splitting his time between South Africa and the UK, where he quickly began to make a name for himself, touring regularly and appearing on popular comedy panel and televised comedy shows including QI, Mock the Week, and Live at the Apollo.

His success is certainly earned and the result of the kind of dedicated, continual hard work that he’s displayed ever since he first got into the comedy game at the tender age of 17 in his hometown of Cape Town. For his high-school work experience, Gola chose to job shadow comedians

1. Unlearning

from the Cape Town Comedy Collective and soon earned his own spot on stage during the group’s performances.

Since then, it’s been all about establishing himself as a global act. With Unlearning’s positive, popular, and critical reception, it shouldn’t be long before he achieves his dream that, as he told The Guardian recently, “If I go to Norway or Chicago or Nairobi, people will buy tickets to see my next hour of standup.” In June he was unveiled as the host of NBA Africa’s Who Got Game? — a YouTube basketball talk show — and in July, he resumed his globetrotting ways, with the 20date UK tour for his new standup show Pop Culture kicking off in September.

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IMAGE AKIN OMOTOSO BY TRUE LOVE/GALLO IMAGES; BLK JKS BY MEDIA 24 PTY LTD/GALLO IMAGES; SIBONGILE MNGOMA BY CITY PRESS / LUCKY NXUMALO/GALLO IMAGES; SUMAYYA VALLY COURTESY OF COUNTERSPACE AND AFTER IMAGE BY GRAHAM DE LACY; THUSO MBEDU BY CHANCE YEH/FILMMAGIC; CECILIA RANGWANASHA BY TRISTRAM KENTON AND KIRSTEN MCTERNAN; CINGA SAMSON BY GUILLAUME ZICCARELLI ARTWORKS © THE ARTIST © PERROTIN COURTESY WHITE CUBE’ AND SUPPLIED

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P E E R S I N C O N V E R S AT I O N

In the first of A SERIES of conversations between peers in various disciplines, the Director for the Centre for Women and Gender Studies at NMMU, and the filmmaker discuss their work, the contents of Naomi Campbell’s handbag, and sowing their wild oats

PUMLA GQOLA AND

XOLISWA SITHOLE

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THE SPEAKERS. 01.

umla Gqola (PG): You are enormously committed to producing work of a certain quality. What are your thoughts on the relationship between visibility, excellence, and the kind of work that you do?

Xoliswa Sithole (XS): I just do what I do.

Often, my projects are a knee-jerk reaction. It was with my documentary Child of the Revolution, about Zimbabwe. I woke up one day and I said, “I’m so tired of what the media is saying about Zimbabwe.

Let me just go to Zim.” And I flew to Zim. I got permission to film in the country. It took me nine years to make the documentary, but I made it, through a reaction. My first documentary, Shouting Silent, also came about as a reaction.

I know you love Shouting Silent. It was for this documentary that we first met and fell in love with each other. We just have a mutual appreciation of who we are in our space.

But, most importantly, you give me so much strength and energy to be the best. That’s what

Professor Pumla Gqola has written six books, including the Alon Patonaward-winning Rape: A South African Nightmare .

Her latest book is Female Fear Factory .

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Manelisi Dabata

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created a space for some of us who feel that our work should be accessible within the political, academic, and civil-society space, because we’re bearing witness to whatever is happening around us. The other thing you’ve taught me is that women — Black women in particular — are being erased from history. How do we find collective ways of contesting that? As a documentary filmmaker, I’m always flabbergasted by the fact that the little archive that is there is very, very expensive. How do we find ways to work around the continuous exclusion of women from our narratives?

Even when women have been archived, they have sometimes been archived incorrectly. There’s often something that’s not quite right when we are archived within our glory and our greatness, and you know just how phenomenal we are as women, and especially as Black women.

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Carike de Jager

Xoliswa Sithole is an actress and prolific documentary-filmmaker.

Of the 18 films she has made, Orphans of Nkandla won a Bafta, and Zimbabwe’s Forgotten Children a Bafta and a Peabody Award.

She is currently working on a documentary about the fight for cheaper medicine for HIV/AIDS.

You do that for me. And that’s important because film is based on patronage. Many talented women don’t last long enough in film. It’s expensive; it’s difficult. You have to deal with the issue of paying your rent and this and that. I have phenomenal women around me who keep saying, “Xoli, keep going.”

I wanted to quit this game about two, three years ago because I couldn’t pay my rent. I couldn’t pay my daughter’s school fees. And I was like, “I don’t think I can do this,” but here we are.

So, in terms of excellence and all of that, I’m not sure. And I’m not being modest. I’m not a modest person. I’m not. I just do what I do.

PG: You’re incredibly generous. You like to say you’re not a modest person but, actually, your humility is awe inspiring.

I think other people would have listened, allowed you to kind of sidestep your fabulousness, but you know you’re not going to get away with that with me.

Eighteen films, two Baftas. The first African filmmaker to have a Bafta is an enormous deal. And a Peabody — just about every significant documentary award in the world. Both in terms of the different film establishments, but also incredible awards for different themes.

We often think about excellence and shininess and celebrity, but for me, one of the important ways we should think about excellence is to think about depth, right?

Shouting Silent gave us a language to speak about the HIV/AIDS realities unfolding around us. I love that you talk about film as a way to bear witness, but what Shouting Silent does is done on many, many levels.

This documentary is critical for how we think about gender, medicine, planning, and power in this society now. It’s a film about children who have to deal with the loss of their parents to HIV/AIDS. It’s beautiful.

And then you intertwine your own experience of losing your mom with that of these little girls who are often the faceless, poor AIDS orphans, right?

You’re doing something very important and disruptive; you’re making us think.

You force us to think about what the world looks like when you’re this little girl who loses her mom, who has to survive and make big adult decisions.

One of the ways in which excellence is very consistent in your body of work is not just that you make beautiful films. The conceptual, deep, difficult but beautiful work you make shifts how we see the world that you pull us into.

My point is that I’m not asking you a question.

I’m partly pointing to your incredible capacity because this does not happen accidentally. I don’t believe you when you say, “Oh, no, I just did it.”

That was a long preamble to my question… There’s a way in which you could also be making a very different kind of film, right? Why don’t you make a happy feature film that’s light and great?

XS: Growing up in Zimbabwe, and coming to South Africa, I felt I was in this space where Black people, especially Black women, were trying to define who we are as Black people. And so there was a certain — I don’t want to say responsibility because then it makes me sound so smug — gravitation to telling those stories.

Michael Sachs [adjunct professor in economics at Wits] and [feminist writer] Gail Smith have been influential, really crystallising my political awareness in this country. Michael is a communist and Gail a socialist, and I felt a need to place whatever it is 

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relationships are about. We’re supposed to bring out the best in each other.

I’m privileged because you’re an academic rock star. You make academia so interesting and accessible. And you’ve taught me a lot in that space. You’ve taught me the intersectionality of film, of art, of academia, of literature, of books.

One minute, you’re profiling Zanele Muholi; one minute you’re profiling Xoliswa Sithole.

One minute, you’re profiling some painter; the next minute you’re mentoring a young woman who wants to be in academics.

You’ve pushed the envelope of how people have always understood or misunderstood academia to be books.

I’ve always said I want to do a master’s, and I’m not clever enough. And you’re always saying, no, you can do it. That is very, very important. You’ve

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that I wanted to express within that political framework. So whatever it is I do, it happens within that political framework. And you only have to read Angela Davis’ Women, Race & Class to understand what it is.

But I have been asked to do many dodgy films.

Fortunately I’ve never been motivated by money.

It’s happened once or twice that someone has said to me, “I’ll give you a million bucks” to make a film, but if I don’t feel it, I’m not going to do it.

Having said that, I really, really, really wanted to direct a film about me. I’ve told you this. When I was very young, I loved sweets. And there was this little storybook, in Rhodesia. And I’ve always said to myself, when I make money, I want to buy a suitcase full of sweets. It would be perfect to direct a 10-minute film of me just buying sweets at Pick n Pay. There’s a lot of fun stuff in the world. What I also really would like to do is a documentary looking inside the handbags of top models. What does Naomi Campbell have in her handbag?

PG: We all know Naomi is a germaphobe like me, so we know that there’s a lot of disinfecting stock in there…

XS: There’s a whole psychology behind what we actually keep in our handbags. But coming to you — where do you find the courage and the chutzpah to tackle serious, humongous subjects? You create a discourse that we’re dealing with as a country.

Whether it is the issue of rape, of slavery… Where do you find the courage to do that kind of work?

PG: I’m not particularly courageous. I’m a nerd.

I have a curiosity about something, and then I want to figure this thing out. And so I can be a little obsessed and go down that rabbit hole.

So most of the time, it doesn’t feel like courage. But secondly, I think it matters who you surround yourself with. My friends are so remarkable. They are in my corner 100% of the time and spectacular at their own work. These are people who deeply care about leaving the world radically different and radically better than it was when they were born. These are also people who know how to love the hell out of me, how to inspire the hell out of me. And also they have such a crazy — you have such a crazy — work ethic. So I can’t be the slacker. I also know that whatever I’m doing, I’m not going to be able to get away with certain things ideologically. We discuss really significant things about why it matters that we think about ourselves as Black people, as Black women, as people, as Africans, as people in the Global South, and how our work matters and what we want to do in the world.

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XS: I want to understand this new title you were given. It’s so fancy looking. What is it? And what does it mean?

PG: I’m the Nelson Mandela University department of science and innovation National Research Foundation (NRF) SA Research Chairs Initiative Chair in African Feminist Imagination. It basically means that I can do research in an area of my choosing. So I chose African feminist imagination, which means I get to look at the creative work, popular culture, and other imaginative activity that African feminism creates in the world.

So I’m looking at literature, film, performance,

C O N V E R S AT I O N S

PUMLA GQOLA AND

XOLISWA SITHOLE painting, print, and other kinds of visual material. I’m looking at popular cultural forms. But I’m also looking at other things that aren’t necessarily the creative arts, but where there’s really imaginative, disruptive work. And I’m trying to think about whether there’s a certain African feminist sensibility at this time.

XS: It is interesting, because someone who has done a PhD on women who choose to be child-free approached me to do a documentary on women who choose. We’re placing that documentary within the context of African women. Within the African tradition, women are not child-free, they’re childless. Within the West, women choose to be child-free, but we want to place the documentary within the context of African women who are choosing to be child-free. How do we find a new language for young women who are coming up? We’re looking at this documentary from an anthropological, sociological perspective. It’s really about women and ownership of their bodies.

PG: Something you’ve taught me is that it’s really important for Black people who create things to always be mindful of the fact that we don’t think about owning things. That relationship between creative and intellectual work and ownership. Of course we have a history; our greats often die in poverty because their pictures are owned by some European. It was incredibly foundational for me that we can talk about copyright, really being able to make the decisions to own your work.

You would think that as Africans, who have had so much taken away from us — including people — we would never lose this fight. At times, I’m like, it’d be so much easier if I just get an agent or hand it over to some lawyer, but then I remember your voice saying, “Own your shit.”

XS: It’s disconcerting that we’re short-sighted in terms of you either get more money and give away your rights to ownership, or you can get less, struggle when the project takes long, but ultimately own the project.

We need to finish. I want to ask you a very important question. Where do you see yourself going? And what is your desire in terms of what it is that you want to achieve with who you are?

PG: From the time I was 15, I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to do by 30. I always have a 15-year plan. I wanted certain things by 30. And when I was 30, I wanted to do things by 45, and now I’m 48. And I realised for the first time I don’t have a 15-year plan. I wanted a research chair. And so what I see for myself, part of what I’m discovering in the last decadeand-a-half of my pre-retirement life, is that I want to do more of what I want to do.

There is great freedom that comes with having this chair. I have more books to write. I have more students to supervise. I have more life to live. I have

more kind of craziness to do. What I would like to do is actually be able to give myself permission to enjoy some of what I’ve created. I’m always going to work on a project. The day I don’t have a thing that I’m working on — like a book, a specific thing — I’m going to be done on this planet.

What I’m enjoying about this time is that I’m a little bit more settled; I’m not as frantic. I was on the treadmill for a long time. I’m not going to write a script for the first time, I haven’t written what I want to do by 60. And I think, you know what, I’m not going to write it. Maybe when I’m 60, I’ll write what I want done by 75, but I’m going to enjoy it. I’m going to be sillier. I’m going to enjoy the wonderful things in my life. I’m going to write more books. I’m going to teach more. I want to do more of the same because, actually, I like the life I have created.

I do work that matters. I do want the world to be better and people to feel better after I’ve taught them and after they have read my books. That’s a worthy thing to dedicate my life to. So I’m going to do more of that.

But, also, I want to dance with you. I want to play more and dance more with my children. I want to spend more time with my friends. Surviving Covid-19 has allowed me to focus on my own mortality. I’m going to create more things and hopefully change people’s lives. I’m going to be completely unapologetic about the joy in my life.

XS: I’m going to stop being a filmmaker, probably in five years. I’ve always wanted to teach. So maybe I’ll be as clever as you are. My 40s passed me by; I was raising my daughter. I didn’t date. I didn’t have sex. I didn’t do anything. I want to have fun. I want to have fun. I want to date. I want to have a lot of sex. My daughter must not know. Work is overrated. I love what I do, but there are other things. I’m really, really being honest; I actually want to date more. I want to have fun. I’ve discovered how wonderful it is to date younger men. I don’t really want to look at someone my age, with their health problems. So I just want to be silly.

PG: You talk such nonsense!

XS: The point is I want to be silly, and I want to have fun. Single life, clap your hands. And spend more time with you, my friend. Do absolutely nothing.

PG: Our babies will grow up and become fabulous.

And need us less. We’ve earned it. I think you’ve earned it. By the time when you’ve been working as hard as we have, and you’ve tried so hard, working so hard at being a good person as well, and being able to live with yourself for so long and having produced work that you think matters, that does matter, that other people think matters, you’ve earned the right to be unapologetically you, to explore, to just have fun. Like your daughter used to say to you, “Mama, why don’t you just make happy films?” I’m like that too. I write on slavery and violence, and I feel like I was laughing at you, but I’d be the same way. What if I write a happy book? Okay fine, I have written two, but the other books I’m dreaming about are also happy books.

XS: You make me feel so liberated. Actually, I just want to have fun. I want to sow my oats, my dear.

Check Wanted Online for a video of the full conversation

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BUSINESS

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South Africa’s shopping carts are going digital and phygital

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Here are some of the leading spaces on the web where you are sure to fill your carts.

The Changing Room When one thinks of a sustainable approach to fashion, patchwork and dowdy pieces in earthy colourways might come to mind. But that is not always the case in the re-sale market.

Pre-loved goods have made a fair contribution in limiting the wastefulness of buying trendy items that contribute more to waste than they do to our closets. This is one of the many positive options one will find with The Changing Room, which offers vintage designer items in good nick.

Also in the business of consignment, The Changing Room is the brainchild of Toni Tamaris, who is no stranger to the runways of Paris Fashion Week.

She spent her youth in the French capital with her parents scouring shows for the latest trends.

While The Changing Room has a flagship store, its pride and joy is its online presence, which keeps users up to date on its latest offerings with brands including Saint Laurent, Christian Louboutin, and Tom Ford. Regular updates — including on local brands for sale online — are also made via The Changing Room’s social media accounts. thechangingroom.co.za Creators’ Depot The heart of news in the creative space, Between 10 and 5 has been curating the finest South African talents in multiple disciplines. This culminated in Creators’ Depot, which houses the finest art, fashion, décor, and lifestyle products in the country.

Seeing the opportunity as a chance to grow with the many creatives it has championed over the years, Creators’ Depot is looking to become the go-to space for buyers and sellers alike and strengthen the creative economy of South Africa in the process.

Creators’ Depot mirrors the eclectic spirit of Between 10 and 5 founder Uno de Waal — one of the most noted authorities in South Africa’s creative space — and features the awardwinning work of Kiffkak, Crystal Birch, and Hannah Lavery among others. creatorsdepot.10and5.com

Isivuno Naturals While the Zoom call has become the bane of our existence, it has also become a stage for beauty enthusiasts to unleash their inner Pat McGrath. Taken from the Nguni word for harvest, Isivuno celebrates the rich African produce through quality beauty products.

Struggling to find quality unrefined shea butter for her business, O’live Handmade Soaps, Zikhona Tefu took to the sheabutter mecca in rural Ghana. Learning and building relations with many of the local Ghanaian producers, Tefu quickly became the go-to girl for others sourcing quality natural products.

Sourced from across the continent, every essential oil, soap, and cosmetic wax is carefully considered. The aim is to support the individuals and businesses under the Isivuno umbrella through the brand’s natural-product journey. isivunonaturals.com What We Cherish While running around the cutthroat streets of the Big Apple would turn anyone into an austere hip cat, this was the perfect springboard for What We Cherish founder Melaney Oldenhof to start her sustainable luxury business. Realising the growth of sustainable luxury brands on the web, Oldenhof sought to dominate this untapped space in South Africa.

Focused on representing brands that promote African heritage, women-led businesses, and the transparency that is expected from sustainable brands, What We Cherish is looking to reshape the luxury space in South Africa.

The site not only promotes these products but also includes a deep dive into the culture. Articles on the site look into self-care and conscious living with detailed beauty regiments. Not limited to products, What We Cherish also shows some love to travel, such as eco hotspots to see. whatwecherish.com ARC Store ARC Store recently opened its doors to South Africans. It promises itself to be the premier destination of all things beauty. ARC houses beloved local brands such as Skoon and Suki Suki, popular powerhouses including MAC and Lancôme, along with niche must-haves such as Lotti London and Black Up. While an array of experiences awaits within the bricks-and-mortar ARC store, shopping is as easy and interactive online as it is in store. The brand’s “edits” section curates beauty finds according to all users’ needs, whether you’re a pro, novice, or just curious about what your beauty talents may be. Turn to the “edits” section for consciously-produced brands and trending items to add to your collection.

If you’re impulsive or looking for that well-deserved splurge, check out the “investment edit” — look out for product lines such as exclusive Salvatore Ferragamo Tuscan Creations and Huda Beauty. arcstore.co.za Faithful to Nature For the past 15 years, Faithful to Nature has become a haven for those looking to shop with ease and peace of mind in terms of how each item is produced and where it comes from.

Founder of the brand, Robyn Smith and her team scrutinise every product before it becomes available in the store.

The store’s ethos is to empower its users with knowledge to buy consciously.

Doing all the worrying for users, Faithful to Nature has a unique ingredient policy that focuses on health, environment, and social impact.

Filtering the options they highlight, Faithful to Nature also looks for brands that make an impact on their communities. This includes their “clean beauty choice” stamp of approval that is awarded to brands that have shown to understand the ripple effect of each and every ingredient in their products, how they affect people, animals, and plant life. faithfultonature.co.za We Are Egg Co-creation, co-lab, and co-evolution are the pillars of We Are Egg. Looking to incubate local brands, We Are Egg is a colourful and fun answer to high-end department stores. The in-store We Are Egg experience includes live DJs, food courts, and phygital (physical and digital) shopping, where items are checked out on your phone.

Vibrant and youthful, the company was founded by clothing retail stalwarts Arie Fabian and Paul Simon, who were looking to bridge the gap between local brands and buyers as South Africa’s first phygital store. Other than an immersive shopping app, the store also allows brand partners to track stock and sales and manage merchandise live.

While We Are Egg products are local, it is also home to international brands including Off-White. weareegg.co.za

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n 2019, any economist or fashion buyer — even global trend forecasting authority WGSN — would probably have said that e-commerce in South Africa would be an industry set to boom late in the 2020s.

However, forcing us to hibernate in our homes and migrate from changerooms to virtual carts, the Covid-19 pandemic created many unexpected changes in retail. One of those was a 66% increase in e-commerce sales thanks to stores being closed and virtual wallets left wide open.

Research from local tech researchers World Wide Worx shows that traditional bricks-and-mortar stores recorded alltime lows for the nine months of the 2020 lockdown, but e-commerce sales doubled in market share, with leading e-tailer Takealot raking in revenue of R3.3 billion.

As the founding mothers and fathers of fads such as #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt and never-ending micro trends such as cottagecore, Gen Z has led the e-commerce wave. This is especially the case for the 18- to 24-year-old demographic; online payment platform Payfast identified this age group as the leading buyers who shop on their cell phones. With 2019 a sweet spot for South African fashion, which saw the industry contributing unprecedented billions to gross domestic product, there was a 139% increase in e-commerce shopping among Gen Z in the final quarter of 2020 — the highest of any age group in South Africa.

Looking at any high-end or fast-fashion business, bricks and mortar are no longer a staunch commitment worth standing behind. More and more luxury brands and online retailers are scrambling to pull in audiences in innovative ways, with fine curation and sustainability at the forefront, a trend taking over South Africa’s digital space.

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NEW

INTERVIEW

UNIVERSE Former Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi continues a happily multi-hyphenate life, across beauty, media, and social justice

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s soon as Zozibini Tunzi enters the plush fourthfloor boardroom at Arena Holdings, we dance. Well, I dance, the now familiar uncertain jig, caught between a fist bump, elbow touch, handshake, bow, and hug. It’s level four, with positivity rates, hospitalisations, and deaths on a steep ascent, you see. My masked would-be dance partner is more assured: “I’m just going to hug you,” Tunzi says.

Accompanying her is Tumelo Moema, whom I have known for years and who has been Tunzi’s manager and adopted older sister since her stint as Miss South Africa.

These two faces have been a regular fixture on my computer screen for almost two years, in countless Zoom meetings, plotting the then Miss Universe’s life after the crown, during my former life as a consultant. It is the first time I am meeting the 27-year-old from KuTsolo, Eastern Cape, in the flesh. As we sit down — socially distanced, in matching grey-trousers-and-polo-neck “combos” that later cause mild amusement on

least another year.’ It started sinking in that my reign was going to be different because a huge part of Miss Universe is the travelling and getting to do on-theground work, with actual people you can see and touch and engage with.”

She found consolation in walks in the park with her partner in crime Kryst, only to return to that apartment and tyranny by way of Zoom. And then Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of a handcuffed George Floyd for eight minutes and 46 seconds, until he could no longer breathe. The trajectory of her reign was forever altered.

“When Black Lives Matter started, I couldn’t imagine anyone else who would have been able to have the conversations, especially because Cheslie is also Black, and Miss Universe and Miss USA are owned by the same organisation — we always found ourselves in these conversations,” she says. This resurgence of the BLM movement became a reason to engage anew, to be on the streets of New York among the protesters, doek on her

for the United States, gender-based violence (GBV) was ours.

The GBV pandemic that has long raged in our country came into sharper focus as women and children — who may have had occasional respite from domestic terror as they went about their normal lives outside their homes — became imprisoned with their tormentors. “Once again, the universe placed me in a place where I could use my voice for impact, even if it was virtual,” she says of her brave and relentless messages of support. In one such instance, ahead of the annual 16 Days of Activism, she wrote: “Every year we plead, we cry, and we march to keep our lives — a human right. So I ask: Is it our souls you want, or a world where no woman exists? Answer me that.”

Crucially, she would deal with abuse on a macro and more personal level — the latter decidedly anathema to celebrity inclinations, especially when others of similar standing are the perpetrators.

A case in point is Tunzi’s public callout of perennial abuse- and rape-accused

education, passions she has drummed up since her Miss South Africa days. She has recently emerged as a council member of Nala, a global collective of “women leaders under the age of 40” who are experts in fields as diverse as academia and government, social movements, and entertainment. Their purpose is to “foster, enable, and mobilise” young African women on the continent and elsewhere to bridge the chasm between policy and lived experience, activating tangibly in grassroots communities, the high-level developmental talking points of highpowered forums.

It is an initiative that aligns perfectly with her soon-to-be-launched foundation.

“I have always been interested in women, children, and education,” she says.

“Through my foundation, we aim to build schools, provide kids with bursaries, and work with small women-owned businesses, supporting them with tools to help them succeed.”

Stories from women around the world inspired another new venture, a “personality and issue-based” podcast

Instagram — I am struck by how much smaller she is than I had imagined. Apart from the glut of imagery of her in heels and body-hugging dresses, from camera angles that accentuate form, my usual view of her was her sitting at her desk, in her New York bedroom. Occasionally, roommate Cheslie Kryst, Miss USA 2019, would walk by, waving in the background.

On many days, Tunzi would be stuck in that virtual loop for hours: interviews, webinars, sponsors, family — everybody got their time. Such was the life of a queen during a deadly global pandemic. Not quite what the beautypageant gods usually dished up, and her new reality took some getting used to.

“In the beginning I was asked a lot what it felt like to be a Miss Universe in lockdown, and at first it didn’t bother me,” she recalls. Covid-19 was new, and the full extent of the devastation and isolation that was to follow hadn’t set in. Loss, a sense of panic, and uncertainty had yet to be personalised. But even as the stoic in her famously urged women and girls to take up space, amid all the darkness, as the interviews piled up, it became a recurring question, and online conversations revolved around the same topic. “People would say, ‘Shame, Zozi is missing out on her reign. It should be extended for at

head and fist in the air. She was learning while educating, re-igniting in herself a sense of social activism born of her own struggles five years prior.

When in late October 2015 South African youth woke us all from our complacency about the emergency in higher education with #FeesMustFall, Tunzi was a Cape Peninsula University of Technology student on her way to being financially excluded. She recalls marching with other students with a shared sense of betrayal.

“It was a heart-breaking time for the youth of South Africa, reminiscent of the past, of June 16, 1976, which was for freedom but also for a quality education.

It was heart-breaking to see that, in 2015, students were still marching for education,” she recalls. “Here was a new government saying you are free to go to university, to pursue whatever you want to pursue, except it felt like the finish line had been moved a little further once more, because you couldn’t afford to be there. It was a realisation once again of how much more still needs to be done in our country.”

If BLM — perhaps the most sustained American popular uprising against racism since the civil-rights movement — was the pandemic social-justice moment

DJ Euphonik, after he publicly mocked his rape accuser.

“Having Euphonik continuously antagonising the alleged rape victim and making a joke of everything is uncalled for,” Tunzi tweeted in March this year.

“I’m sad but not shocked because this is where we are as a country.”

When one moves on from a big job into uncertainty, the weight of the former gig can be all-consuming. I can’t imagine what that must be like for one deemed — in many ways, for almost two years — the epitome of womanhood in the entire universe. When I ask Tunzi how she frames herself, now that her crown sits on another pristine head, she admits it is a question she has been reckoning with that is yet unresolved. “I have been asking myself that in recent weeks, and it’s a tough one,” she says. “I have been this person, in this position for so long, longer than expected. It’s going to take time,” she says.

If her short- to medium-term plans point to anything, it is certainly not a crisis of confidence or a lack of ideas, for hers will be a happily multi-hyphenate life, across beauty, media, and social justice.

While fate focussed her reign on social upliftment and GBV, her post-crown work will circle back to children, women, and

series of conversations with “prominent and unknown women, who do incredible work” whom Tunzi met on her journey.

As NDAs would have it, she’s less candid about an impending commercial partnership, save to say that her famous face will soon be associated with an established beauty brand. And don’t be surprised if, in that campaign, her hair is not in her trademark fade, as was the case when she donned a wig for a recent Thebe Magugu campaign, leading to a minor international incident on the internet. You see, once she chose that high top and short sides — and went on to embrace the politics that inevitably come with it — and conquered a world littered with borrowed manes, the hairdo was elevated to a national key point.

“People think that this is the only type of hair that you’re supposed to have. That was never the message,” she says, for the umpteenth time. “The message was always about autonomy. It is about women being able to choose what they want to do with their hair and their bodies. So should African women choose to go out with their natural hair, that should be okay, and if they choose not to, that should also be okay. Should I want to change my hair, I will, without anyone’s permission, just the same way I did then.”

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“People think that this is the only type of hair that you’re supposed to have. That was never the message. The message was always about autonomy. It is about women being able to choose what they want to do with their hair and their bodies”

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PROPERTY

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Brian McKechnie

Hawaan Drive

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HUNTERS WAY Riverside, Durban North This home’s wraparound Victorian veranda provides an ideal spot for G&Ts or afternoon tea and biscuits, overlooking lush gardens, large established trees, and an inviting lap pool. Original interiors feature strip timber flooring and double-volume tongue-in-groove ceilings. Originally a hunting lodge, the property has carefully been updated to create an excellent indoor-outdoor flow, with en-

suite bedrooms, an open-plan kitchen, and plenty of natural light that floods in through elegant sash windows. https://bit.ly/3iV5zyh

EDGE OF THE SEA Lagoon Drive, Umhlanga A lock-up-and-go penthouse in the heart of Umhlanga, set in indigenous gardens, and right on the main beach. This apartment offers ample accommodation, open-plan receptions, and a wraparound veranda with virtually uninterrupted ocean vistas — what more could you ask for? https://bit.ly/376D4bo

HAWAAN DRIVE Hawaan Forest Estate This ultra-modern home in the Hawaan Forest Eco Estate seamlessly transitions from slick open-plan indoor spaces to an expansive deck and rim-flow swimming pool.

Located above Umhlanga and surrounded by indigenous forest, the property commands a spectacular view over the greenery to the boundless blue horizon. https://bit.ly/3763rhz

SUNDRIDGE Mentone Road, Morningside An Edwardian mansion that radiates gracious Old Durban character. You enter through a colonnaded portico into a generous hallway that opens out to well-proportioned reception rooms with views over the city and Indian Ocean. Period fixtures include timber floors, panelled feature walls, stained-glass windows, and even an oriel window.

This home promises the perfect Durban lifestyle: relaxing at the pool, exploring the terraced gardens and ponds, or simply lazing away on the upstairs sleeping porch — and enjoying the summer year round. https://bit.ly/3xatnTU

THE EXECUTIVE La Lucia Ridge, Umhlanga This minimalist mansion in low-key La Lucia is designed with floor-toceiling windows, luxuriously appointed interiors, and lots of space for family and friends. You’ll probably feel as if you’re on holiday all year round. Isn’t that exactly why we love Durban? https://bit.ly/3BQ9XqO

Quintessentially Durban Five North Coast classics to fuel your tropical property fantasies

Hunters Way

Sundridge

The Executive

Edge of the Sea

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enowned for miles of sandy “Blue Flag” beaches, winding pedestrian promenades, warm seas, and a laid-back lifestyle, Durban’s North Coast remains a perennial favourite with holiday investors and residents alike. Property options range from grand old homes on the Berea, with shaded verandas and sweeping views across the city bowl and Indian Ocean, through central Durban North, to Umhlanga Rocks — the North Coast’s own glitzy Sandton by the Sea. We’ve compiled a list of some coastal classics to fuel your tropical property fantasies.

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Denis Droppa

HUSTLING INTO THE HYBRID ERA

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Ferrari’s new 296 GTB has both power and emotion

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t’s kind of hard for a sportscar company to stick to its purist ideals nowadays. Take Ferrari, which until a few years ago refused to make turbocharged engines because they weren’t part of its zeitgeist.

Now it makes some of the best turbo engines around.

Then the Prancing Horse long resisted entering the SUV corral, even as rivals such as Porsche, Bentley, and Lamborghini raked in the profits from their “off-road” sports behemoths. And now, the Ferrari Purosangue, with its four seats and raised ride height, is imminent.

Ferrari has learnt that when the tides shift, you have to go with the

flow, even if it means selling your soul.

And now for the famed Italian sportscar brand, this means electrification.

After all, everyone’s rocking down to electric avenue as part of the planetsaving imperative, including Porsche, Lamborghini, Lotus et al.

The new Ferrari 296 GTB (Gran Turismo Berlinetta) is a petrol-electric hybrid that slots in under the company’s V8-powered F8 Tributo. And no, it isn’t Maranello selling its soul exactly, as it’s made hybrids before: the SF90 Stradale plug-in hybrid of 2019, and the LaFerrari launched in 2013. When they were zooming around at more than 340km/h while still hearing a wailing

V8 or V12, customers probably didn’t care that volts were involved in the creation of the horsepower.

And Ferrari’s hoping customers of the new 296 GTB plug-in hybrid won’t mind either, even though it’s a downsized 3.0-litre V6 (yes, turbocharged) pairing up with an electric motor this time. The 296 refers to the engine’s 2 992 cubic capacity and number of cylinders, and it’s officially the first six-cylinder in a road car sporting the Prancing Horse moniker. (The Dino built in the 1950s-1970s had a V6 engine but not a Ferrari badge.)

The 296 GTB may have Ferrari’s smallest engine, but it’s endowed with both power and emotion. We’ve yet

Left and above: The new 296 GTB is the first Ferrari road car with a six-cylinder engine. Below: The 269 Assetto Fiorano includes lightweight features and aero modifications

“Ferrari has learnt that when the tides shift, you have to go with the flow, even if it means selling your soul. And now for the famed Italian sportscar brand, this means electrification”

to drive it, but videos reveal the midengined car emits the goosebumpinducing vocals expected of a Ferrari, and the numbers certainly impress.

Under the sleek, aluminium Italian skin is a total system output of 610kW at a high-revving 8 000rpm. It sounds like a recipe for driving thrills, and Ferrari claims a top speed of 330km/h and a 0-100km/h sprint of 2.9 seconds.

The rear-mounted 122kW electric motor provides a full-electric mode range of 25km, suitable for soundless commuting when you don’t wish to wake your neighbours in St Tropez or Clifton. The electric motor can be topped up through a home wall box or public charger.

All thrust goes to the rear wheels via an eight-speed dual clutch auto transmission, with power managed by an e-diff (electronic differential) that minimises wheelspin. The car is kept glued to the tar with the aid of an active rear spoiler that produces downforce at higher speeds. Front and rear double wishbone suspension deliver the famed Ferrari handling, with magnetorheological dampers that adapt to surface changes.

Ferrari’s new two-seater bambino is the most compact berlinetta (sports coupé) to emerge from Maranello in the past decade. It’s 46mm shorter than the V8-powered F8 and also squats closer to the road for a lower centre of gravity.

The Italian stunner turns heads from any angle, and key design features include a visor-style windscreen that wraps around onto the side windows, a pair of flying buttresses on the tail, and the 3D surface of the glass engine cover.

There’s a single, gaping central exhaust mounted midway up the car’s rear end.

The all-digital cockpit presents high-tech dazzle, and an eManettino dial on the steering wheel allows the driver to switch between four power settings: eDrive (electric only), Hybrid, Performance (the V6 engine is always on), and Qualify (maximum performance at the cost of lower battery recharging).

Cogs change automatically via an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, with an H-gate-style gear shifter that references old-school Ferraris like the one Magnum PI drove.

Owners who wish to chase lap times can order the 296 GTB with an optional Assetto Fiorano package that includes lightweight features and aero modifications, with up to 360kg of downforce generated at 250km/h.

The Ferrari 296 GTB goes on sale in Europe in 2022 with a projected price tag of about R4.5-million. The local arrival date and price are yet to be announced.

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Shannon Daniels

Wade Bales

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outh Africa’s Three Ships Whisky took home no fewer than seven sought-after awards at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2021. Among these was a Best in Show award for its Three Ships Whisky 5 Year Old. This superior blend of malt and grain whiskies was also named Best Other Whisky and earned a Double Gold medal — a first for South African whisky.

Three Ships’ master distiller Andy Watts was recently inducted into Whisky

02.

Born from the exceptional terroir of the Stellenbosch winelands, this Alto red is renowned for its fullbodied and rich, elegant tannins.

A nose of dark chocolate with a hint of spice gives way to an intense, wellbalanced palate. Enjoy alongside a slow-cooked stew or casserole.

WINTER WARMERS.

Home-grown libation HAUTE CABRIÈRE HAUTE COLLECTION PINOT NOIR 2018

G R O OT C O N S TA N T I A VSOP B R A N DY 2014

STEENBERG LADY R CAP CLASSIQUE 2015 ith its pale-copper 05.

03.

A selection of single-block vineyards was used to create this exceptional wine that was matured for 12 months in French oak barrels. Expect a character of plums and red cherries, followed by subtle earthy notes. This wine will continue to bring joy for many years to come, and will pair beautifully with unusual meat dishes; such as duck breast, venison loin, or carpaccio.

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root Constantia’s famed sauvignon blanc and pinotage grapes form the base of this brandy — distilled in a traditional copper-pot kettle before being aged for six years in old French oak barrels. The nose shows dried pear and apricots, followed by cinnamon, nutmeg, and caramel. Dried fruit follows on the palate too, accompanied by vanilla and almond flavours.

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hue, fine bubble flair, and nose of red apple and coconut biscotti, Steenberg’s latest Lady R is as sensational as ever.

The creaminess on the palate is complemented by a subtle and refreshing acidity and salinity that carries right through to its lingering finish. Possessing great ageing ability, this pinot noir/chardonnay bubbly spent over two years on the lees — proving that while time waits for no man, it most certainly makes an exception for Lady R.

JACK BLACK WOLVES OF WINTER OATMEAL STOUT oasted malts 06.

04.

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Magazine’s Whisky Hall of Fame for his life-long commitment to the South African whisky industry. “These awards are very important to us because they place South African whisky firmly in the spotlight — not only as a contender but also as a winner of global awards — competing among the best in the world,” Watts says.

“Many said that producing an exceptional whisky here in South Africa was not possible as, traditionally, the rules dictate that whisky should be made in cooler, wet-climate countries. As South Africans, we knew that, with enough determination, anything is possible and so we endured to prove that we’re the exception.”

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form the backbone of this limited -release beer, while oatmeal and hops add complexity and balance. Thanks to extra time in the tank, this is a big, full, and unfiltered stout with a smooth mousse. Pair with a hearty stew, or throw a potjie on the fire, and embrace the best of winter.

IMAGES SUPPLIED

ALTO CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2017

Wade Bales has more than two decades of experience in the luxury-drinks market and is passionate about sourcing really great drinks and sharing them with really great people

THREE CHEERS TO THREE SHIPS!

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Dispatches on all things cool, covetable, and conversation-wor thy

stay Mhondoro: A wonder in the Wa t e r b e r g

food

gifted

columns

Elevated gastronomy and shopping at Le Parc by Tashas

Nandi Dlepu, MD of creative agency Mamakashaka

Michele Magwood on books and Sarah B u i t e n d a ch o n t r ave l 01.

A hotel concept inspired by the earth, Farmhouse encourages a more grounded way of being

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AU NATUREL

Farmhouse

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Julia Freemantle

amenities and uniforms were created together with Manthe Ribane, a performer and designer who is also the creative director of Nirox’s annual ArteBotanica festival.

An experiential destination that’s grounded in nature, Farmhouse’s programmes lie at its core –— and curated experiences include guided walks in nature, hiking trails, diverse wellbeing practices, storytelling, art, and farming workshops. Underpinning the whole concept is a oneness with

Suzy Josephson

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1. All the Birthday Bouquet, 2016 2. No 57, 2020 3. Sunday Face, 2020 4. Mask for State Sanctioned Stroll, 2020 5.Rave Face, 2020 6. The Reunion installation

nature: this informs much of what happens here, whether that’s dinners around the fire in the stone boma overlooking the vegetable gardens or games of boules under ancient paperback acacias. As part of the Nirox concept, the arts are naturally an integral part of the Farmhouse experience and form part of the design — with walls hung with works from the Nirox collection.

Guests are likely to meet the artists who move seamlessly between the properties. farmhouse58.co

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underestimated just how much of a tonic the wide-open space of the Welgevonden Game Reserve, home to Mhondoro Safari Lodge & Villa, might be at this time, the perfect antidote to the claustrophobia and confinement we’ve endured the past year. After a very manageable drive from Johannesburg to the Waterberg in the Limpopo province, I step out of the car, take in the fresh air and surrounding landscape, and let out a very relieved sigh. Headed for Mhondoro, we’re met at the main gate by a bar and snacks artfully displayed on the bonnet of a Land Rover, and after a cooling G&T accompanied by the tastiest homemade game droëwors, we embark on a further hour’s drive in the hardy open vehicle bumping along into the vast valley. The expansive reserve has a wide array of wildlife, including the Big Five and some other sought-after cats, but it’s mostly the spectacular birdlife darting among the trees that we enjoy en route. It’s a comfort to see that the rhinos, still adorned with their horns unlike at some more cautious reserves, are plentiful, and it seems the inability to take a private vehicle into this area may be what’s protecting them.

We reach Mhondoro in time for a delicious lunch, the first of many sumptuous and beautifully presented meals. I’m touched that my wheat intolerance has kindly been accounted for with many extra options available, making for the rare occasion when I need not endure my usual food fomo. It’s these acts of thoughtfulness from the obviously passionate staff that make for the full five-star experience. Returning from dinner, we’re met with a roaring fire in our room, with drawn mosquito nets surrounding the bed, and — glorious surprise — hot-water bottles tucked beneath the covers. You couldn’t get any snugger if you tried.

Surprise and delight are the themes of our stay, and the moments of feeling spoilt and considered are plentiful. We’re met in the middle of our brisk morning game drive by chefs making pancakes on a skottel braai (with wheatfree versions for me, of course). We’re entertained at an extravagant boma dinner under the stars by a performance of African song and dance, and my nine-year-old son (my companion for the weekend) is treated to an on-foot bug hunt with Lena, our bush guide, who is equal parts charming and informative.

The attention to detail is not only apparent in the hosting skills but also in the design of the lodge, which displays much thought and many unique features. There is a custom-built stargazing deck, as well as a waterhole with an underground game-viewing hide connected to the main lodge by a 65m reinforced concrete tunnel, which makes for the ultimate vantage point to enjoy the wildlife. We also enjoy the experience of a lifetime when a herd of elephants nonchalantly gathers at the poolside to quench their thirst with large quantities of pool water, completely unperturbed by the humans in close range on the deck.

This is apparently a regular occurrence at Mhondoro and an absolute highlight.

And it’s not just elephant families that are made to feel so welcome. For a place that offers this level of luxury and comfort, it is surprisingly geared towards families with children. There is much accommodation that takes family-sized groups into account, as well as the large luxury villa, which is perfect for extended family gatherings and celebrations, especially appealing at a time when large parties and events aren’t the norm.

Gyms, spas, and private plunge pools are a nice touch, but when I reflect on what really makes it a most special stay, it’s definitely the warmth, friendliness, and attentiveness of a staff complement that feels like a new group of friends hosting you for the sheer love of it. mhondoro.com

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armhouse, a hotel concept

by Nirox, is much more than just somewhere to lay your head.

A space designed to inspire harmony and created as a conduit for finding a deeper, more meaningful way of being, it’s a hotel and experiential concept inspired by its location and forming part of the new Fifty Eight wellness retreat at the Nirox Sculpture Park in the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The mixed-use spaces (comprising 22 rooms, lounges, and a co-working space) were fashioned out of a dairy and other existing farm buildings and pay homage to diverse influences, such as Japanese wabi sabi and ancient African culture. Designed using rammedearth construction techniques and upskilling local communities as part of the building process, Farmhouse is a case study for sustainable design — with much of what has been used in its creation either up-cycled or recycled. Interior items, linen, and bedding were all sourced locally, and the custom

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FROM LE PARC text

Steve Steinfeld

WITH LOVE I

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Natasha Sideris and the Tashas Group bring an exquisite new café to Hyde Park Corner

n the almost 10 years since opening her Hyde Park shop, Natasha Sideris has introduced a stunning new concept to The Tashas Group, launching Le Parc by Tashas.

A new direction for the brand, Le Parc is an elevated gastronomic and shopping experience that sees Sideris embrace her love for fine wares, freshly baked goods, and Le Parc by Tashas, Hyde Park Corner, Johannesburg generous, hearty cuisine.

Designed by interior architect Neydine Bak in collaboration with interior stylist Nicky Greig, the store draws on the initial Parisian inspiration — which has always been an influence for the eatery — and is an ode to the sophisticated shoppers who frequent the mall.

It’s this point of inspiration that is always the first step of the design process, explains Sideris. “We look at where we are, whether it’s a mall or standalone. We then let that dictate the interior. Whether it’s suburb, mall, or shopper — we find a connection. Here, we had gone with the idea of the Parisian street-style shopper, so we have the concept and then we choose the colour palette, then fabrics and so on. Once we have that down, we then work on the food.”

This time they decided to push it even further than before, creating an over-the-top, yet oh-so-chic, Parisian wonderland: part food-and-homeware emporium, part restaurant.

“It’s a place to celebrate and visiting it should feel like an occasion. My hope is that this store will just bring joy to all who visit. It’s happy and different and fun — merging modern playfulness with nostalgia,” says Sideris.

The stucco-formed curved walls are swashed in pink and, while paper artist Elonah O’Neil’s iconic handmade paper crockery, cutlery, and tea sets (which hang from the ceiling) remain a key feature, they’re now gloriously displayed with the addition of another 200 pieces and finished with gold-leaf detailing that pops against their pink background.

The emporium is situated inside this space, offering an array of the finest bespoke and boutique goods, gifts, and pantry staples that are sure to have every gourmand and luxury lover salivating. It offers signature Tashas staples — such as its delectable muesli and freshly baked treats — along with topquality local and imported products.

Think the likes of scratch-baked bread, embroidered linen, De Nagmaal’s exquisite pantry range, Bonne Maman jams, and so much more. Le Parc has also partnered with Botanicus and Assouline, allowing shoppers to pick up the most fabulous floral arrangements or a premium coffee-table book or two.

The centre-court seating area has also been completely revamped. Stained glass by artist Francois van der Merwe fitted into the framework creates a defined space for the restaurant. Each coloured pane, whether white, pink, seafoam or green, is detailed with a unique texture and design, bringing a touch of modern, mid-century glamour to the mix.

Further separating the courtyard from the rest of the mall are billowing pink-and-white striped sails strung above the seating area which, together with lighting design by Paul Pamboukian, create an illusion of natural light and give the space an airy, outdoorsy feel.

Rounding off the over-the-top aesthetic are largescale papier-mâché artworks by sibling duo David and Alexandra Ross, who have created a range of sculptures for the space ranging from a larger-thanlife croquembouche to an overflowing fruit bowl.

Each of the works is inspired by the illustrations of Victoria Verbaan, which will be featured on menus and additional paraphernalia in the store.

Le Parc, as a standalone concept, has a menu that combines the best of Tashas café with all-new signature dishes. Expect the likes of a yoghurt-and-coconut breakfast panna cotta served with house-made granola, poached eggs atop a ratatouille with crispy brinjals, and hot smoked salmon served alongside a classic potato salad — in addition to French classics.

Those with a sweet tooth can indulge in a selection of gelatos made in-house in the time-honoured Italian tradition with a range of flavours, such as vanilla, coffee, and pistachio, as well as more modern iterations: caramel popcorn, granadilla cheesecake, and ricotta and fig. The new space will also include a waffle bar, naturally, being the perfect accompaniment to a rich and creamy gelato.

“I’m excited to see how people respond to our new retail offering and also almost this opportunity to return to our origins, telling the story of our food, our breads and ice creams, and how we make everything from scratch,” Sideris says.

It’s a magnificent space that will no doubt inject a much-needed pop of colour, glamour, and excitement to Joburg’s dining scene. The new format raises the bar of our café culture. It seems sure to attract not only the clientele to which Tashas has catered in the past, but perhaps also a new crowd, who will revel in this ultra-luxe, bespoke, and carefully curated culinary experience. instagram.com/leparcbytashas

TIGER CANYON

Private Game Reserve tigercanyon.com

The only growing population of wild tigers outside Asia.

Located in the majestic Karoo region of South Africa, Tiger Canyon offers a unique big-cat experience. tigercanyon.com | info@tigercanyon.com | +27 71 607 9279 A DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT SAFARI

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Shannon Daniels

Michele Magwood

Michele Magwood is a contributing books editor at the Sunday Times

READ ALERT.

With flying colours

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ne of the most talkedabout books this summer in the US is a thriller titled Falling by TJ Newman (Simon & Schuster). Its success has been propelled by its backstory, the sort the book world and hopeful firsttime authors love. Newman was a flight attendant working redeye shifts on airlines out of Phoenix, Arizona. She drafted the story on cocktail serviettes in the galley late at night. When she had a draft, she shopped it to 41 different agents; the 42nd gave it the thumbs-up.

Now she has a multi-book contract and the novel is, well, flying.

It was on one of those lonely latenight flights that she looked over the sleeping passengers and thought that so many lives, including hers, were in the hands of the pilots. And what would happen if the pilots were threatened?

In Falling, a plane carrying 150 passengers and crew has just taken off when the captain receives a photograph of his wife and children tied up with a bomb strapped to them. If he does not crash the plane into a certain target, they will be killed. For his family to live, everyone on the plane must die.

The pace is fast, the suspense tightly wound. James Patterson loved it, as did Lee Child.

There’s no doubt South African pilot Robert Schapiro would have gulped it down, given his own stories

The memoir of South African pilot Robert Schapiro takes turbulence to another level

in his memoir, Secrets From The Cockpit ( Jonathan Ball Publishers).

After reading it, one wonders how airplanes ever get into the air and stay up there safely.

Subtitled “Pilots Behaving Badly and other Flying Stories”, Schapiro relates how a nice Jewish boy from Cape Town became one of just a few thousand people in the world to captain a jumbo jet. Before that was conscription in the South African Air Force at the age of 17, where he was endlessly harangued as “Jood”.

He finally made it to SAA in the late ’70s and found an organisation firmly divided into two camps: Afrikaner political appointees on one hand and on the other what he calls the Royal Family — mostly former WW2 pilots.

The children of Broederbonders were mockingly called “Pa Sê”, and only they could expect to be appointed to top positions, while it was in the air that the Royal Family ruled, “notoriously indifferent to the opinions of their crews”.

Schapiro opens this section with a scene on a public train in Lisbon, with his Royal Family captain passed out in a river of red wine sloshing about him in the aisle. The stories that flow would make Dudu Myeni blush: pilots with flight-attendant girlfriends known as “airline wives”, one pilot who had married so many times he was known as the “floating trophy”, passengers having

sex in first-class seats, and cockpits so full of cigarette smoke you could barely see the flight instruments.

When passengers got too drunk and disorderly, the engineer would reduce the oxygen supply in the cabin and then lower the temperature too. Within an hour, everyone would be asleep.

“The occasional cost,” he writes,” was having to give supplementary oxygen to a couple of elderly folk, but the cabin staff never complained about that.”

It’s the near-misses he describes that will have your heart in your mouth.

A suspected fire on board that forced an emergency landing in Norway, frantically dumping fuel on the descent; falling asleep at the controls after an anaesthetic; engines stalling mid-flight; navigation cockups; and an arrogant captain who almost flew their 747 into a formation of F-15 fighters near Anchorage, Alaska.

By then, Schapiro was flying enormous cargo planes for Nippon, the Japanese airline. His descriptions of the night skies and the spectacle of the Northern Lights are arresting, the deep peace of the cockpit in the midnight hours as they chased the sunrise.

He never lost his awe of flying and remained at heart the “boy pilot” long after he retired. Sadly, he died before he saw this memoir, formed from the stories he had told his son growing up, in print.

GIFTED

Q+A.

Nandi Dlepu The MD of creative agency Mamakashaka on yoga, small-batch wines, and Asian flavours

Glass Skin Edition; Suki Suki’s Açaí Gentle Exfoliating Mask; and the Body Shop’s Coconut Butter.

03. What gadget couldn’t you live without? My portable Marshall Kilburn speaker for sure!

04. Your drink of choice?

I prefer white wine and enjoy a fine and dry chenin the most.

I buy from our local wine merchant, Voisin at 44 Stanley.

05. Where do you eat out?

Glory by Chef Nick Scott.

It’s known for the astounding Asian flavours of its menu of primarily pescatarian tapas.

I order in but also enjoy eating at the Highlands North restaurant, which has an urban-jungle feel to it. It’s very unpretentious. I’m also a fan of the wine selection — often smallbatch wines with great stories.

06. The last meal that really blew you away? Crispy pork belly, steamed rice, and Asian greens at Tomson, a very

Stanley. It’s my little piece of the world, purchased during a time when it felt that the world was lost to us.

10. What item are you eyeing next? A work from LRNCE. I am a huge fan of her design aesthetic and process.

11. The best gift you’ve been given recently? Please And Thank You from local perfumery Apartment.

12. The first thing you add to your trolley when you go shopping? Eggs. I’m that particular about how my eggs should be made and taste.

13. Something that recently caught your attention?

Botho Project Space, an artist-run visual-arts platform launched late last year. I’ve been captivated by the programming they’ve had so far: the solo Nelson Makamo launch exhibition, followed by a group exhibition including up-and-coming artists such as Bahati Simoens, to its last

unassuming South Cantonese restaurant on Bree Street in Cape Town. A relatively simple meal, but I was fulfilled.

07. The single item in your wardrobe that signifies your individual sense of style? My kimono. I can throw it on right after a shower, receive guests, and even run an errand in it. It’s a statement piece that doesn’t try too hard.

08. The last item of clothing that you added to your wardrobe? A pair of trousers from Good Good Good.

They’re from the Magenta Vrou Vrou Work Wear range and made from a classic waffle-weave linen produced

by SA textile designers Mungo. They’re warm, cosy, bold, and contrast with my predominately black-and-nude wardrobe items — but they have grown on me.

09. Last thing you bought and loved? A Ben Mrirt rug from The Storer at 44

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event, An Afternoon with Mandisi Dyantyis.

14. A watch brand you love? The Must de Cartier Vendôme is a beauty and a really well-designed “basic” watch.

15. What you enjoyed most in the last place you travelled to?

The great food and coffee in Melbourne, Australia.

16. What book can we find on your bedside table? Predictably Irrational

by Dan Ariely, which is about hidden forces that shape our decisions.

17. What are you listening to at the moment?

Texas Sun, an album by Texan trio Khruangbin and Leon Bridges. I especially love the melancholic track Conversion.

18. What’s your favourite city? Home, Johannesburg, a city of limitless possibility.

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1. Ben Mrirt rug 2. Marshall Kilburn speaker 3. Mungo Vrou Vrou Work Wear Trousers Magenta 4. Skoon Ruby Marine Overnight Hydrating Mask 5. The Body Shop Coconut Butter 6. Texas Sun, an album by Khruangbin and Leon Bridges 7. Danaa 2 by LRNCE 8. Ben Mrirt rug 9. Skoon Glowdrops

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01. The one indulgence you would never forgo?

I really try to meditate or practise yoga or Tai chi daily. It feels like an indulgence, because I still struggle with seeing anything other than work as productive.

02. What are your beauty essentials? Skoon’s Gel-to-milk Cleanser, The One Super Moisturiser, Glowdrops, and the brand’s Ruby Marine Overnight Hydrating Mask; Swiitch Beauty’s Superhero Spray, the

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Sarah Buitendach

Buitendach is Wanted’s former editor and contributing editor to the Financial Mail.

Airy, contemporary, thoughtful — at all hours it is throbbing with passengers, colour, and diverting attractions. You can see that it’s meant to be a modern take on a Turkish bazaar and every direction you turn there are cool food stalls, cafés, and luxury stores. Their main business-class lounge is the size of Pretoria and even boasts an automated grand piano on an eternal loop. Istanbul International is the Disney World of airports and I might look into seeing if you can actually

sitting right now?

Tenerife’s terminal was surprisingly delightful — as were the tiny baguettes jammed with jamón — almost the only redeeming thing about the tourist-trap island. Frankfurt’s hub is a pretty good spot in which to waste 16 hours, and Miami’s is dire. Tunis airport is where I found two mergoum carpets, which are the best thing I’ve ever bought while travelling and, obviously,sign me up for the shopping at Dubai International.

My winner though couldn’t be less like that Emirates bonanza.

Right now, I would love to be sitting at Harare International Airport. In my mind’s eye it’s a Saturday at lunchtime and I’m waiting for the flight home to Joburg. With any luck, the power is on and the aircon is working.

I love that departures building: its ’90s architectural nod to Great Zimbabwe, the always brilliant staff, even the picture of President Emmerson Mnangagwa keeping an eye on you while you try and pick up the Wi-Fi. In pre-Covid days it had a bookshop/antiques store that sold a really interesting mix of African and global literature, and you’d be able to get a couple of bags of wonderful Farfell coffee around the corner.

There isn’t really anything else to do except watch people disembarking from arriving flights, but more often than not I’ll run into someone I know (and I’m not even from Zimbabwe).

When this is all over, let’s meet there for a couple of ice-cold Bohlinger’s beers that cost us an alarming number of US dollars. Paradise!

COLUMN.

Dreaming of Duty-Free

The 3 106-carat Cullinan diamond found in Pretoria in 1905 is still the largest ever found. It resides in the British Sovereign’s Royal Scepter in the Tower of London. It was bequeathed to King Edward VII by the government of the Transvaal to heal the animosity from the second SA War.

The percentage South Africa accounts for in Africa’s formal beer market. In 2012, annual SA beer consumption was 60l per person, far greater than the African average of 14.6l or the world average of 22l.

The number of yards Wilco Nienaber drove on the fourth hole of Randpark Golf Course in the 2020 Johannesburg Open.

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text

Declan Gibbon

The size in suare metres of Fourways Mall.

It has over more than 400 stores and 8 000 parking bays.

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A NUMBERS GAME

The number of smokers who are estimated to have quit during the government’s ban on tobacco in the first Covid-19 lockdown, representing 9% of South Africa’s nicotine addicts.

26.5

The price in rand of a bottle 4G Venetia’s Heart 2015, a blend of syrah, petit verdot, cabernet sauvignon, and cabernet franc, carefully selected from five vineyards in the Western Cape. port2port. co.za

Despite the financial toll of the pandemic, South Africa is home to this number of dollar millionaires, according to New World Wealth (2020).

The data group says most are in Sandton, Cape Town, and Umhlanga.

have a holiday in it.

By comparison, the usually heaving Heathrow Terminal 3 was sanitised and sad. The salespeople and merchandise at fancy boutiques like Bottega Veneta seemed forgotten; the big restaurants were closed.

Thank goodness WH Smith was still operational for mandatory last-minute gift purchases.

In writing this column I asked myself, what is my favourite airport in the world? Where would I, if viruses were vanquished, love to find myself

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The highest price in rand ever achieved for a SA painting: Irma Stern’s Arab Priest.

Sarah and her sister Jo at ORTIA Departures in happier times

750 000

The average cost in rand of first-year university tuition in South Africa, according to data published by Old Mutual in 2021.

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52 300 000 7 100

121 65 000

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South Africans have been nominated for 121 Grammy awards and have won 39.

a holiday read and wondering who shops at the Burberry store at ORTIA — it’s all part of the dream.

When I flew to London recently, this vision was dashed. Almost everything was closed, the airport was like something in a zombie movie — after everyone had been obliterated.

It was all piped music, automated walkways gathering dust, and no people. Duty-Free was open but empty, save for a cashier, and the lounges were shuttered. This desolate hellscape made me realise how I loved airports of yore (even the bad ones) as much as I loved getting to any destination.

And then I landed at Istanbul’s new international airport. It was, no word of exaggeration, heaven. This vast new addition to Turkey’s biggest city has been its aeronautical heart since 2019 and, even mid-pandemic, it was a joy.

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sexy plate of spaghetti alle vongole eaten as the sun sets over the Tyrrhenian Sea is one thing, but right now what I really fancy is one of those excruciatingly bland but addictive gluten-free mini chicken pies that are a standard offering at the Bidvest lounges. They are best served with a glass of local red, as you huddle on a tatty maroon chair in an under-lit corner of the place.

It may not seem like I’m peddling much of a dream here but, really, the thought of those terrible pies, those chairs, even the escalator next to the loos that leads up to the lounges at OR Tambo International Airport, immediately get my pulse raising.

And I know you understand why. All these things are signifiers that you’re about to embark on an

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international trip. You’re through customs — next stop, New York, Nairobi, the world!

My sister calls it the “Toblerone effect”. She says the minute she sees those mountainous bars piled high in Duty-Free, the excitement hits.

We never buy them or other airportonly wares but, hell, we know what they mean. To wander through the stores dousing yourself in perfume, sampling a thimble of whatever hooch they’re promoting; the joy of picking

The annual number of terrawatt-hours spent mining the cryptocurrency ethereum.

The number of wheels on the Tyrell P34 with which South African Jody Scheckter won a Formula 1 race in 1976.