Fauna and flora

WORDS Nadine Botha PHOTO Southern Guild

Magda van der Vloed’s Oh Dear stag head seems to be a creature straight from the collective South African dream.

Layers of visual resonance come to mind when faced with the Oh Dear stag head by wire-and-craft designer Magda van der Vloed. There’s the Nordic-flavoured pop cultural revival of quirky hunting trophies. There’s our own Khoisan’s mythological half-human, half-animal gods – which brings to mind the controversial Nando’s advert about “what is South African?” And what is South African design, after all? And that’s without mentioning the iconic form of the aloe plant and the universal “bok” that Magda has created in her fantasy deer, which is some part springbok, some impala, some kudu. Magda herself says simply that she liked the idea of integrating something alive that grows with the inanimate wire design. She also points out another layer: transfers of imagery from vintage porcelain onto the wire.

Magda van der Vloed 082 454 2531, vandervloed@absamail.co.za