ILIFA LETHU RUG COLLECTION

ILIFA LETHU IS A RUG COLLECTION DESIGNED AND PRESENTED BY SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEMPORARY ARTIST AND DESIGNER MASONWABE NTLOKO. THE TITLE, ILIFA LETHU, TRANSLATES FROM ISIXHOSA TO ENGLISH AS "OUR INHERITANCE," CONVEYING THE ARTIST'S INTENTION TO CELEBRATE THE RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE OF AFRICA THROUGH HIS WORK.

THE COLLECTION IS A CULMINATION OF NTLOKO'S EXPLORATION OF HIS AFRICAN ROOTS AND AIMS TO HONOR AND PRESERVE THE TRADITIONS AND STORIES PASSED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS. BY CREATING THIS BODY OF WORK, NTLOKO SEEKS TO NOT ONLY PAY HOMAGE TO HIS HERITAGE BUT ALSO TO SHARE IT WITH A WIDER AUDIENCE, ENCOURAGING A DEEPER APPRECIATION FOR AFRICAN CULTURE.

EACH RUG IN THE COLLECTION TELLS A UNIQUE STORY, DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM VARIOUS ASPECTS OF AFRICAN CULTURE SUCH AS MUSIC, DANCE, FOLKLORE, AND RITUALS. NTLOKO'S METICULOUS ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND CRAFTSMANSHIP IS EVIDENT IN THE INTRICATE DESIGNS AND QUALITY OF EACH PIECE, MAKING THEM NOT ONLY FUNCTIONAL BUT ALSO A WORK OF ART.

OVERALL, ILIFA LETHU SERVES AS A TESTAMENT TO THE BEAUTY AND DIVERSITY OF AFRICAN HERITAGE, AND NTLOKO'S DEDICATION TO PRESERVING AND CELEBRATING IT THROUGH HIS ART. THROUGH THIS COLLECTION, NTLOKO INVITES US TO CONNECT WITH OUR ROOTS, APPRECIATE OUR INHERITANCE, AND EMBRACE THE RICHNESS OF AFRICAN CULTURE.


ABOUT THE COLLECTION

IQHAYIYA LOMANYANO” IS A CAPSULE COLLECTION THAT DRAWS FROM THE DEEPLY NOSTALGIC JOY OF CHILDHOOD IN TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE STREETS. IT REFLECTS A TIME WHEN DAYS WERE SHAPED BY THE EXCITEMENT OF PLAYING SPORT, WHERE DREAMS OF BECOMING PROFESSIONAL SPORTS STARS FELT CLOSE AND POSSIBLE.
THE COLLECTION CAPTURES THE RITUALS AND EMOTIONS OF THOSE MOMENTS. RUSHING HOME FROM SCHOOL WITH ANTICIPATION, CHANGING OUT OF SCHOOL CLOTHES, WASHING SOCKS QUICK, AND RUNNING BACK OUTSIDE BEFORE THE STREET LIGHTS CAME ON. IT RECALLS THE RESOURCEFULNESS OF PLAY, WHERE BALLS WERE MADE FROM BREAD PLASTICS, TIN CANS, BRICKS AND WHATEVER ELSE COULD BE FOUND, TRANSFORMED BY IMAGINATION INTO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL.
THROUGH A CAREFULLY CURATED SELECTION OF GARMENTS, “IQHAYIYA LOMANYANO” TRANSLATES THESE MEMORIES INTO A CONTEMPORARY FORM, HOLDING ONTO THE SENSE OF FREEDOM, UNITY AND POSSIBILITY THAT DEFINED THOSE EXPERIENCES. IT IS BOTH A REFLECTION AND A TRIBUTE, HONOURING A SHARED CHILDHOOD WHERE COMMUNITY, CREATIVITY AND DREAMS WERE INTERWOVEN INTO EVERY MOMENT OF PLAY.