Made from recycled rubber, inner tubes, silicone, metal valves and wire, CY15 speaks to the regeneration of identity – a nation in the process of re-articulating itself. Bongoy’s process is a language that builds itself, ever deepening in its reach and complexity through constantly shifting states of matter. Beginning with salvaged waste — inner tubes of tyres, found metal parts and wire — the bulky, light-absorbing materials are transformed into large, intricate new forms.

Bongoy’s studio operates like a factory in reverse, where stockpiles of industrial material are reconstructed into various states of textile-like plasticity. By collecting, washing, cutting, layering, weaving and manipulating rubber, he cultivates this language, allowing it to unfold before him in a process that repurposes and renews.

Bongoy is the fourth artist from Southern Guild’s roster to have been selected for this honour, following the selection of Andile Dyalvane (Special Mention) and Madoda Fani in 2022 and Dominique Zinkpè (Special Mention) in 2023. The winner of the 2024 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft prize will be announced when the exhibition opens in Paris.

The LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize seeks to acknowledge and support international artisans who demonstrate an exceptional ability to create objects of superior aesthetic value. By identifying work that reinterprets existing knowledge to make it relevant today while reflecting its maker’s personal language and distinct hand, the LOEWE FOUNDATION aims to highlight the continuing contribution of craft to the culture of our time.