WORDS Graham Wood
For a design-related highlight at the FNB JoburgArtFair this coming weekend (8 – 10 September 2017), go check out Peter Mabeo’s special editions at the Orange Babies stand.
At this year’s FNB JoburgArtFair, you’ll find special editions of two of Gaborone-based furniture designer and maker Peter Mabeo’s best-known designs at the stand for the NGO Orange Babies. Orange Babies is a local branch of the Dutch NGO that aims to achieve an HIV-free generation with a special focus on Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTC) initiatives. For last year’s fair, they created a limited-edition collectors’ dinner set with the help of the Goodman Gallery, with artworks by the likes of William Kentridge, David Goldblatt, Kendall Geers and Mikhael Subotzky, to name a few, reproduced on plates.
This year, through Gallery MOMO, they’ve worked with Peter, whose custom-made furniture designs strike an amazing balance between supporting local craft and maintaining his African design heritage, and international appreciation. He’s exhibited at fairs worldwide and has been involved in high-profile international collaborations with the likes of Patricia Urquiola.
Peter has made an edition of five 2,4-metre-long Embi sideboards, a beautiful design that features distinctively handcrafted drawer fronts made with a pattern of individually cut, shaped and sanded wood chips.
He’s also done a special edition of 10 Kika stools, one of his collaborations with Patricia Urquiola, with an orange detail especially for the charity, and three containers designed specifically for the fair.
The Orange Babies stand will also include works by Mary Sibande and Andrew Tshabangu, who are both represented by Gallery MOMO.
For more information about the fair, visit fnbjoburgartfair.co.za.