CLUB CLASS
Rightly billed “more than just a fair for beautiful objects”, the recent Guild exhibition at the V&A Waterfront featured design from 17 countries on four continents
THE opening night of Guild, South Africa’s first international design fair, was a glamorous affair. The location (the Lookout in the V&A Waterfront) was breathtaking, the sparkling wine was ice cold, the gorgeous pieces on show made it difficult to concentrate on catch-up conversations with fellow design fans, and there were plenty of star international designers and curators on hand too.
And then a hush fell over the crowd in the main exhibition space. Turning to see what was happening, we saw that one of the Handspring Puppet Company’s amazing horse puppets was entering the room, ridden by a small boy. It was looking around a little nervously at the assembled throng, just the way horses always do when confronted by unexpected sights and sounds. It was a magical moment.
Conceptualised and put together by Trevyn and Julian McGowan of Southern Guild, Guild was something new for South African design lovers: a fair that situates local, handmade design in a global context of other cutting-edge designers and curators. Guild included displays of work from 17 countries on four continents, as well as objects from the Origins Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand and the very latest in manufacturing technology in the form of 3-D printing by Agents of the 3-D Revolution.
Says Trevyn McGowan: “When designers are deeply involved in the process of what they make – hands-on, immersed – a different kind of work emerges. The distance between what is rapidly made, mass produced or machine led and what is a result of process, intimacy and narrative becomes greater. Handmade pieces are what really contain meaning for society and for the people who own them.”
Featured designer Nacho Carbonell, born in Spain and currently resident in the Netherlands, is a case in point. He creates design-art pieces with organic forms and highly textured surfaces, and his curious, compelling work was installed in an outdoor courtyard at the Guild show. Much of the other work also demonstrated the design world’s interest in organic and tactile forms. There were touches of humour on show too, such as the gumball-bright chandeliers on display at Rossana Orlandi, the hairy animalscum-chairs at R 20th Century (US) and the upcycled items at Coletivo Amor de Madre that hail from Brazil.
The African contributions more than held their own in this exalted company. Highlights included Cheick Diallo’s Dibi chair and the Sweat lamp by Dokter and Misses, both of which appeared on the Design Network Africa stand. The items collected for the Artisan stand – many of which could be purchased – were covetable too. They ranged from beautiful Story vases (created for Editions in Craft by the women of the Siyazama project in conjunction with Front) to Bronze Age bowls and skulls, jewellery and handbags by Adele Dejak and lighting from Philippe Bousquet.
An accredited WDC2014 project, Guild hosted talks and workshops, educational curator tours and a variety of associated events during its run. We very much hope it will become an annual event.
• For more info visit guilddesignfair.com.