Lukhanyo Mdingi exhibition gives insights into black history

Fashion designer Lukhanyo Mdingi invites guests into his family's living room to journey with him through Bantu indigeneity and Black Consciousness.   

“Those are my original family pictures,” says Mdingi, referencing portraits displayed with a vase of fresh hydrangea on an antique side table.

The 31-year-old Cape Town designer opened the doors to his ongoing exhibition The Provenance: Part II  in Johannesburg last Thursday. On public view until June 17 at the Women’s Jail Exhibition Wing at Constitution Hill, the presentation comes over a year since its debut at The Fourth Gallery in Cape Town.   

The living room section, which drew the biggest audience, is titled Mama’s Lounge.   

“What we wanted to do for Mama’s Lounge was to re-create our lounge from back home,” he says in a telephonic interview a day after the opening.  

“There was also a sound recording of my grandmother reciting from the book titled i-Ncwadi Yam that had been published by Lovedale Press,” he adds.   

Lovedale Press published educational and evangelical isiXhosa texts and literature.  

Co-curated with visual artist Banele Khoza and Trevor Stuurman's photography publication The Manor, the exhibition traces the lineage of Bantu heritage and the exploration of the preservation of archives through the themes of music, literature and textiles.   

“The premise of everything was down to the Bantu heritage in three distinct themes focusing on music, textiles and literature. Exploring what constituents the foundation of these themes and give more context to them," he explains. 

Adjacent to each other, the two exhibition rooms are in stark contrast; the crimson red room lured attendees with the evangelical acappella men's choir Amadodana aseWesile. Additionally, the room glass housed the group’s impressive album collection plus a pew and an antique recording system.   

After a brisk walk across the dimly lit foyer guests are welcomed into a brightly lit room, which explores in detail the themes of literature and textile.   

“Theme two was broken down into literature and further into three different elements; focusing on Amathole Lovedale archives, Mama’s Lounge and the Lovedale mood board and alumni,” says Mdingi. 

“It is through textile and literature where you get insight into how the provenance and the history of the three themes came about in the context of SA.”  

In attendance on the opening weekend of the exhibition were Zanele Muholi, Ponahalo Mojapelo, Sthandiwe Kgoroge, Thebe Magugu, Zöe Modiga, Buhlebendalo Mda, Wanda Lephoto, Lulama Wolf and Bafana Mthembu.   

“More than anything else I just want people to be informed and inspired. There is so much history that is untold and through the exhibition I want people to get an insight into who we are from a literature and textile context," says Mdingi.   

“I hope that what we have presented within the exhibition highlights this for the larger audience.”  

Mdingi established his namesake fashion brand in 2015, a distinguished ready-to-wear line denoted by muted contemporary elegance with an emphasis on high-quality materials.  

“I am working on a new collection and that will take some time to develop. But right now, we are working on small projects within the label. Knit textiles and mohair are the raw materials that are indicative of the brand, and feature in my collections," he says.  

Last October, Mdingi scored a global accolade by winning the 2023 Amiri Prize. The win included a handsome amount and a yearlong mentorship with the brand’s founder, Mike Amiri. Having showcased at Paris Fashion Week, Mdingi has also been awarded the prestigious LVMH Karl Lagerfeld prize in 2021.

“It’s been incredible. We are in a position where we can work with the American Amiri team and the different parts of the BoF [Business of Fashion] global fashion platform. It's been an incredibly revealing experience,” he says. 

“The experience did not change my design process, but it gave the business more opportunity to lean onto networks such as BoF and that’s important if you trying to grow a global brand.   

“With all the networks that have come from winning the Amiri prize, it's essentially up to us how we use those networks to build our brands to what we envisioned it to be." 

With the location scouting for The Provenance Part III pencilled in his schedule, the designer is tight-lipped about its location or any future venture.

Mdingi marvels at the advances he has made in a short stint of time. 

“Five years ago, we didn’t realise that we would be in the position where we are right now. I would love to continue in what we are doing using the medium of design and storytelling and then involve service to the point of view we are trying to tell,” he says.