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Dyalvane and Poswa showcase works for ‘LOEWE Lamps’ at Salone del Mobile 2024
18 Apr 2024 (3 min) read
Ceramicists Andile Dyalvane and Zizipho Poswa were commissioned to create works for ‘LOEWE Lamps’ at Salone del Mobile 2024.
This is the brand’s most ambitious collection to date featuring 24 internationally renowned artists, all of whom have a long-standing relationship with LOEWE. These newly commissioned floor, table or suspended lamps are currently on view at Palazzo Citterio until 21 April 2024.
Light is the central medium in all these works and its properties have been embraced and manipulated by each artist, guided by their own individual practice. The showcase will be LOEWE’s eighth at the international furniture fair, which enables the brand to venture into creative experiments with artists, expanding on generations of design and crafts knowledge. This is the first time many of the 24 featured artists have created lamps and the project has enabled them to utilise a wide range of mediums, pushing the properties of each material to create unexpected interactions with light.
Dyalvane’s hanging light, titled Intlaka (Tree Sap), sees him revisit his exploration of pairing clay and glass (the first time being when he worked with Ngwenya Glass in Eswatini back in 2011/2012). This work is an offshoot of his ongoing Ingqweji series which is inspired by the ecosystem of the sociable weaver bird. Here, Dyalvane turns his attention rather to the structural foundation of their build: the tree itself, specifically the sap-producing acacia tree, as these are abundant along the Eastern Cape landscape where Dyalvane grew up.
The calabash-like shape is clearly nest-inspired, yet it is punctured by globular glass forms emulating leaking amber sap. The work is meant to capture that “looking up” perspective as one glances upwards to the treetops to spot the hanging nests. The aqua blue iridescent glaze of the form is also a nod to the Cape blue starling, the birds Dyalvane grew up seeing and admiring, and this is beautifully offset by the golden hues of the glass elements. Dyalvane created the form in his Cape Town studio, before it was shipped to Madrid for the production of the glass globules at Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja (the royal glass factory of La Granja in Ildefonso, Spain).
Poswa’s standing lamp titled Mam’NokuKhanya (Mother of Light in isiXhosa), was created in recognition of the significant role that women play in African societies. Composed of ceramic, glass and bronze, it takes the form of a vessel propping up a bowl of illuminated orbs. Glowing from within, the work's stacked container-like forms are inspired by rural Xhosa women in the act of 'umthwalo' – transporting heavy loads on their head in their quest to sustain life.
“This piece completely transforms the original meaning of the [Umthwalo] series, which was predicated on the burdens and struggles that Black women carry”, explains Psowa. “Turning this piece into a sculptural light symbolises a more profound meaning: of women being carriers of light.”
Poswa continues: “Mam’NokuKhanya depicts the radiance of Afrikan women and the luminosity of their role in bringing enlightenment to those around them, illuminating the path to a brighter future for generations to come.” For her, this represents hope, resonating with the isiXhosa idiom: "Makudede ubumnyama, kuvele ukukhanya," which simply translates to “let the light triumph over the darkness”.
