The term ‘savage’ has a dark and loaded past in the context of art history, but through contemporary culture, brands like Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty have hijacked it from its historical captors. As new life is breathed into the post-pandemic South African art scene, Bubblegum Club sits down with Lwando Dlamini to discuss his career,…
It was a sad day for the world of art when Carte Blanch released its investigative piece into the state of Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG). The episode revealed that the situation is dire, at best. The structural integrity of the building is below par, with resultant water leaks constantly damaging priceless works of art. Of…
This season, BIRKENSTOCK debuts its first locally-inspired summer campaign, fusing South African originality with German tradition to highlight a collection against a background of vivid colour and striking patterns. A campaign honouring local supporters of the footwear brand has been inspired by the unique manner South Africans dress down their BIRKENSTOCKS. Three local tastemakers are…
Trigger warning: fatphobia, suicide ideation, and eating disorders. I remember being 11 years old and not necessarily being concerned with my relatives and why they always mentioned my weight. I was more focused on why that was such a flaw and why it didn’t make me good enough — good enough like my slimmer cousins…
The expansion of personal beliefs widens vigorously as a conscious and subconscious intent to understand the world and self is prioritised across land and sea and amongst every kind of nation. In South Africa, the interrogation around the positionality of femmes and the theoretical and practical work of feminist conceptualisation and practice is one that…
Release ya anger, release ya mind Release ya job, release the time Release ya trade, release the stress Beyonce’s voice skates on the uncannily timely house song released this past June 2022, paralleling the idea of a “renaissance”, a big moment of change in our 2020s: The Great Resignation. The hit single featuring Big Freedia…
The first in a series of performances by artist and choreographer Clara Delorme is called L’albâtre (Alabaster). Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving and is processed for plaster powder. In L’albâtre, the choreographer explores monochrome and invites us to examine the nature of the strange being she embodies,…
Pulsing beats fill the space in a large well designed room. Practising dancers move to the tempo as Tarryn ‘TNT’ Alberts leads each move with her clear distinct voice. As I follow the instructions — though I am dismal at the dance — Tarryn’s kindness is an energetic force and at Nike’s training facility in…
*Statistics mentioned all in relation to the country of South Africa* Recently, TikTok user @kimaotung sparked a conversation about marriage by framing it as social currency. She mentions and elaborates on this point by saying that younger femmes today are not as confined to the pressures of marriage as older femmes were 20 to 30…
There are too many incidents to name that have acted as an obstacle and demotivator to the average South African person in the last two to three years. Sometimes we just want to set our sights on something a bit more positive, and indulge in something warm; something that feels like sunshine which is where…
Sanelisiwe Twisha, originally from Port Elizabeth and famously known as Moonchild Sanelly is occupying different states grounded in the specificity of the femme experience and she is not holding back. Moonchild Sanelly has proved herself to be a master of heterogeneity. She flows between various — even seemingly contrasting — musical genres like R&B, Pop,…
Sensitive. Delicate. Perspective. Precise. // A connection to life The most terrifying thing about being alive is that it really is an experience filled with small intricacies. It is probably also behind what makes life so beautiful. The combination of thoughts and behaviours from multiple people that accumulate and take shape within a community is…
