Bubblegum Club

Tag: RhaRha Nembhard

  • Gabrielle Kannemeyer – inspiring innovation in art and fashion

    Gabrielle Kannemeyer is a Cape Town based art director and stylist who dabbles in every component of the projects she works on. Establishing herself as an unforgettable and irreplaceable brand in the creative industry she has collaborated with Rharha Nembhard, Petite Noir, Lukhanyo Mdingi, Orange Culture, Rich Mnisi, Nicholas Coutts, Wilton Dawson, 2Bop, Bevan Davis and Travys Owen in the past. Coming from a Fine Arts background, Kannemeyer’s work can be distinguished easily by means of her styling that comes to the foreground in images. In her work she celebrates and documents South African landscapes and people in a way that can only be deemed the Kannemeyer way. In my interview with the influential creative she tells me more about her background, method and shares some tips for young creatives

    Kannemeyer studied Fine Arts at Michaelis in Cape Town and was introduced to various forms of expression such as painting, print making, sculpture, photography, film making, digital art, animation, typography and drawing. She specialized in photography during her studies but enjoys utilizing a variety of creative expressions to get her concepts across.

    She states that working as a creative director in various mediums, she finds herself taking photographs, producing, styling, casting and art directing. The projects that she works on are at times realized with the input of many other creative minds by combining resources and strengths to create work. Kannemeyer feels that it is important to experiment with various forms of expression and avoids sticking to one medium simply because she is good at it or because it comes naturally to her. She continuously challenges herself and builds on her skill set all with the aim to become better at what she does.

    “I enjoy how what I do allows me to see a world that is visibly in a state of constant flux. There is no facade of monotony. When things grow stagnant, they shift / I shift as an immediate reaction. I enjoy working with my hands. I enjoy working with people. I enjoy the challenges. I enjoy seeing ideas from my mind’s eye manifest into work. I enjoy helping young creators find their thing, that thing they fucking love doing… that feeling is a revelation for all parties involved. There’s this light that shoots through them and then it’s over…the universe makes moves for them. There are so many things I enjoy about what I do right now.”

    Kannemeyer tells me that her creations are informed by what she sees in her surroundings. Perhaps it is a conversation that pulls her mind into a visual plane or perhaps a landscape that stimulates her visual senses as she drives by. She finds enjoyment in driving around the countryside for hours on end, people and landscape watching. Sauntering through Fabric City sometimes ignites her inspiration. Kannemeyer states that her ideas come from anywhere and everywhere.

    In her first year at university Kannemeyer came across a book that excited her by artist Billie Zangewa, an artist who mainly works in embroidery and textiles. At the time, Kannemeyer felt lured by the thought of using textiles in her work, a material she was already familiar with as she altered and sold clothing to support her studies and exhibitions. Kannemeyer chose to make use of it in a more welcoming and forgiving environment. “Fabric has the most wonderful ability to disrupt and transport one somewhere else entirely due to how symbolic it is.”

    Reflecting on her process, Gabrielle explains that from the instant a personal project, campaign or lookbook is conceptualized, she centres her thinking around how the cast/collaborators, landscapes and styling could be used to amplify the narrative behind the project. She expresses that for her it means bringing styling to the foreground. She achieves these results by simplifying the landscapes that appear behind her subjects.

    Kannemeyer is currently running a co-creation studio with Imraan Christian (co-creative director), Raees Saiet (space manager), John Second (studio manager) and Keenan Oliver (assistant producer). The team of creatives developed a collaborative mentorship program operating from 103 Bree Street, Cape Town. Kannemeyer continues to explain that young creators from a variety of backgrounds are invited to enter the space and work closely with them in order to develop their skills and learn how to tell their stories. The co-creation studio has worked with young aspiring  creatives including filmmakers, stylists, creative directors and photographers. The mentorships ask of the participants to build their own teams, mood boards and shot lists. Guidance is provided to them through every step of the process. The participants’ work is published onto Area3.co.za on to the CPT ‘17 tab. The images or content is then theirs to keep and the co-creation studio’s to share.

    “Our idea for the co-creation studio was prompted by many things: the inaccessibility of Cape Town’s creative industry and the skills and tools needed to pursue creative careers within the industry, the need for fair representation within communities, the demand for a collaborative creative community within the city and the need for catalyzed inclusive growth of a new creative industry. We want to level the playing field as best we can.”

    Kannemeyer has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the industry and expresses that she would still like to work with many more, such as Tsepo Tsotetsi, Angel-ho, Cary Fagan, Jody Brand, Princess Nokia,  and Nao Serati to name a few.

    Kannemeyer has stirred change in the industry as a creative director and stylist and hopes to inspire young creatives with her work. Her message for young creatives is the following: “If you have questions, ask them. Everyone’s just a DM away. For real, Carpe DM.”

  • Rharha Nembhard; NoirWave’s visual powerhouse

    Rharha Nembhard; NoirWave’s visual powerhouse

    The Drone Goddess is on a mission to live her truth, using her gifts to obliterate boundaries and silence stereotypes. The curator of  NoirWave, one RhaRha Nembhard, is home in South Africa on a break from her Masters degree in museums, galleries and contemporary culture. But to her a break includes so much work and travel that it reveals her drive and passion to be a working artist and contribute to the world with a progressive and powerful message. I had the opportunity to talk to her about everything from her inspirations to her upcoming projects but the crux of it is clear; her work engenders transformation and changes perceptions within institutions, art and culture to represent Africa and Africans as we are and have been. She formed NoirWave with her partner Yannick Illunga a.k.a Petite Noir and their message is finally being embraced in SA, with a SAMA nod for Yannick and both of them featured on the cover of Sunday Times Lifestyle, NoirWave is finally growing roots on homeground.

    NoirWave is telling the story of black glory through art. The hermetic principles and traditional themes referenced in the imagery of the movement are balanced by the perspective that the world is comprised of billions of people and we influence one another through travel and now the internet. ‘We are all hybrids of some shape or form’, Rharha says in reference to her broad perspective on identity and culture. Rharha was born in Jamaica, raised in SA and did her undergraduate degree in Bangkok. Having lived in Africa, Asia and Europe, she has come into contact with the world’s major civillisations and is able to draw touches of them into what she does. Pulling seemingly disparate pieces together to tell a new story about the millenial age and represent blackness within the context of futurism, high art and global connectivity.

    Traditional broadcast and mass media misrepresent the black experience. But the 21st century has brought us black superheroes, a black American President and rap in African accents. The Winds of Change are blowing and the anachronisms around Africa are being swept away. Rharha travels the continent extensively and her work references all the beauty and richness she comes into contact with. Yet, the messages proliferated about living here are often pervaded by negative sentiment, and while much of Africa’s reality is informed by conflict and the effects of imperialism this is also a vibrant, abundant place and our role within the global space is not that which is defined by the West but rather as the founders of civillisation and forebearers of modern science, astronomy, literature and religion.Colonialism obliterated African history and impressed falsehoods upon Africa of barbarism and ignorance.  As movements like NoirWave gain traction, new stories about Africans by Africans gain prominence; we are travellers and artists and activists and curators and writers and scientists, our brilliance is beginning to be liberated from the imperial gaze as we come to understand all that our continent and people contribute to the world.  Africa’s resources have been used to build so many major cities; London and Paris were nothing before brutally snatching Africa’s wealth and America would be a wasteland without the stolen labour of slavery. These are facts, and we are here to rewrite the story about this continent and its children.

    The substance of NoirWave; the looks, the visual story is the vision of Rharha; her construction of imagery translates cultural knowledge into a modern landscape. Her collaboration with Lina Viktor and Petite Noir produced the striking imagery for La Vie est Belle and her art direction is behind the stunning videos for the album as well. Their shared objective of representing and bringing reverence and regalia to African experiences has produced stunning, emotionally stirring art. The imagery the produced for La Vie Est Belle projects the power and poetry in blackness and the abundant beauty of Africa.

    Rharha, the mother of all that is NoirWave, curates the movement with a cohesive and consistent message; Black is beautiful, deal with it.

  • Noirwave; reflecting alternative black identities

    Noirwave is telling the story of black glory, of Africa, through art. The creative collective of Petite Noir and RhaRha Nembhard form the heart of Noirwave and their collaboration with Lina Viktor reveals the beauty and diversity of experience that is being African.

    While the immorality and brutality of imperialism perpetuates much pain and suffering on the continent, its people and geography are more than elements or victims of an imperial agenda, or beneficiaries of international aid. Africa, Africans and the African diaspora make incredible contributions to the world’s culture, colour and creativity. From the Americas to Europe and the islands through which black people are positioned, we make the music that the world dances and drones too. And while our images are often used against us, the beauty of black people, the potency that melanin projects is undeniable, despite the hegemonic mission to make mockery of it.

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    Blackness progressively makes strides, against the forces that oppress and divide us. And as black people continue claiming our right to be ourselves without apology, there are black artists working to create reflections of blackness and Africa that are based in a perspective that educates and empowers. Enter Noirwave, a movement and collective making strides  towards progressive representation and integration of black identities. Synthesizing politics, art, fashion and music to tell a story about the incredible beauty of Africa and the diversity of experience black people exist in on the continent and beyond.

    Noirwave breaks the boundaries between the stereotypes and archetypes of Africa, projecting images that are progressive and positive. Africanness and blackness are not monolithic constructions of colonialism but shifting, complex identities and cultures that are also subject to the influence of the internet and form an important part of the international community. All of the above should go without saying, but the hegemonic powers that determine what we see and hear and consume would erase this unalterable truth if they could.

    In 2015, Petite Noir, RhaRha Nembhard and Lina Viktor produced images and sounds that subverted the status quo and offered a view of blackness that reflected Africa, Europe, America and Asia, that vivified the experience of walking the world in black skin while being a global citizen, reflecting the progressive forces that are working to unify humanity, as well as the historic fact that Africa is the home of humanity.  The video for Best, touches on the striking and emotive themes encapsulated in La Vie est Belle, Petite Nior’s critically acclaimed debut album. The artwork and music video for the album are rooted in Africa and use influences from artists and cultures the world over to tell their story. Noirwave offers the world beautiful music and visuals to enjoy and admire from a creative consciousness that upholds black beauty and promotes black love. The importance of these ideals cannot be underestimated in a world that tries to erase and divide us. So the struggle continues with new sights and sounds to take us into a noir future.