WORDS Jo Buitendach PHOTOS Supplied
A classic of liquor cabinets and Snoop Dogg songs, Hennessy is branching out with a new collab that takes in art and basketball.
French Cognac house Hennessy is much loved in the hip-hop world, but in recent years, it has also become known as a patron of urban art. The spirit’s Very Special Limited-edition Series is a case in point: for the partnership, a global mix of well-known urban artists designed bottles and murals. And since Joburg already boasts three of these large-scale artworks, it’s apt that the city is the scene of Hennessy’s latest creative stunt.
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“In the Paint” is a collaboration between Hennessy and America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) – the second instalment in a multi-part worldwide project. Through the revitalisation and beautification of basketball courts, Hennessy and the NBA aim to bring communities together, highlight the spirit of basketball and support local artists.
For the Joburg leg of the project, Zimbabwean-born graphic artist Sindiso Nyoni (also known as R!OT) lit up Zoo Lake’s public basketball court with an earthy explosion of colour that features a sun at its centre. Symbolising the warmth of the African continent, it is surrounded by ripple patterns that signify the Charente river in France’s Cognac region. (Cognac barrels were historically transported along it.) The artist also incorporated the “Bras Armé” logo that’s synonymous with Hennessy, subtly redesigning it to include a basketball. In his work, R!OT takes inspiration from the indigenous craft techniques of southern Africa; and of the court, he says, “It’s a beautiful ode to Africa.”
It’s also a great example of a public-private initiative that works – and driving past the court in the afternoons and seeing locals shooting hoops on R!OT’s masterpiece shows its success in action.
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