A little Afro AVANT-GARDE

For Tshidzo Mangena of Locha Design Studio, African design is experimental and freeing

- text BUNTU NGCUKA photographs RICARDO SIMAL

There are many theories and works of art that attempt to explore what African art and African civilisations would look like if natural evolution and progression had taken place instead of colonisation and Western-influenced modernisation. For Tshidzo Mangena, the industrial designer and founder of Locha Design Studio, this was the initial spark that would inform his design style. 'I was having a conversation with Haldane Martin,' he says. 'I was sharing my thoughts and struggles with the term "African design", and we were trying to define my particular aesthetic and way of working. When he said, "It's Afro avant-garde," it resonated with me because I always strive to experiment with and interrogate what African design is today, uninterrupted and unafraid. I try to design from a place of fantasy and freedom rather than relying solely on tradition and heritage. My pieces seek to remind us of who we are as Africans: advanced, sophisticated and cutting-edge.'