Wearable Architecture: Anoqi

WORDS Gareth van Niekerk IMAGES Nick Boulton  MODEL Thandiswa Mazwai

A new jewellery line by a Johannesburg-based designer explores the African continent’s architectural marvels in the ancient medium of cast brass.

You can now wear a piece of Africa’s architecture with the new Anoqi line by Johannesburg-based jeweller and urban planner Anokhi Parikh – a celebration of the continent’s architectural marvels and legacy of extraordinary adornment. Anoqi’s #Antiquity range consists of a series of cast-brass rings that pay a shimmering tribute to the designers of the past in wonderfully detailed miniature: think wearable expressions of the Church of Lalibela in Ethiopia, the Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali and the too little celebrated Pyramids of Meroe.

The Anoqi brand was born when Anokhi found herself looking for a more satisfying creative outlet while doing her urban planning doctorate. “While I was working on my doctorate in London, I learnt the hard way that one of the things about writing a dissertation is that the end is never in sight. I felt like I needed a creative outlet that was a little more immediate,” she explains. “I took a short course in jewellery design at Central Saint Martins, and loved it. Then, over time, I started making pieces for friends and family, which was really therapeutic. I’ve long had a love for jewellery and adornment, which came from spending a large part of my life between India and South Africa – two cultures that are very serious about adornment. Recently, I took the steps to turn this love into a sellable line.”

During the design process, Anokhi became aware that she could explore the concepts underlying her research in urban planning through jewellery design. “During my PhD, I started reading about histories of the Global South and found that much urban planning theory largely concerns itself with cities of the Global North,” she says. “I ended up talking to my teacher about jewellery made by architects and found that this also focused on the architecture of Global North.

I’ve been to some of Africa’s great architectural sites; some of my best travel memories are of visiting them, especially the mosque in Djenné.” As well as being available via her Instagram feed, Anokhi’s pieces can be purchased from the Africa Rise stores in Sandton, Menlyn and the Anderson Street branch in the Joburg CBD.

Looking for more? Here’s our round-up of 30 local jewellery design brands.