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Dr. Esther Mahlangu life DR. ESTHER MAHLANGU - ON THE WATERFRONT - NOBU ON CAPE TOWN - CAPE’S FLORAL KINGDOM - TASTY PASTRY - TEN LIMITED EDITIONS - BRING ON THE BRANDY - INSIDE TRACK - THE SCIENCE OF THE SPA CONTENTS CONTENTSVolume Four • Cape Town ONE LIFE. MAM' ESTHER We can learn a lot from the wisdom of maturity. But Dr. Esther It’s been ten years since One&Only Cape Town opened its doors 04 Mahlangu's insistence on maintaining our respective cultures to the panoramic landscape of one of the ‘Seven Wonders Of The may be a message more potent than her world-famous World’, Table Mountain. At that time we had no idea how wonderful Ndebele art and beadwork. the journey would be - with our guests and our staff. Irrespective of what unfolds over ten years, in this country or internation- GENIE IN THE BOTTLE ally, one certainty remains - that travellers will always seek out memorable 06 Head Sommelier, Luvo Ntezo, shortlists some favourite wines and restful experiences, and that will be largely measured by the hospitali- for you to take home with you. With a mystery for you to solve ty of their hosts - the destination, its attractions, a resort, or its people. WHEN SCIENCE MEETS BEAUTY We have seen the city change over a decade, so much for the better, in- 07 Modern, fast-paced living demands more of our time, our bod- cluding the bustling V&A Waterfront (page 16) and new Zeitz Museum of ies, and our attention. As a result, technology is developing to contemporary African Art. We celebrate the global leaders (Nobu Matsuhi- offer new and more effective ways to nurture and restore our sa, page 10) and artists (Mam' Esther, page 4) we are associated with, and physical and mental wellbeing. also guide our guests from floral kingdoms (King of Flowers, page 12) to world-class wine and fine dining (page 6 and 9). SWEET DREAMS And with our five-hundred-strong team we have learned that we truly love 08 It's not all rest and play - someone has to work. We take you what we do, building a culture that delights in rolling out the red carpet to inside 24 hours of magnificent pastries and desserts in the one of the world’s most beautiful cities. One&Only kitchen. Enjoy Cape Town. A LA CART 09 In South Africa, brandy is not only an after-dinner digestif, but an acknowledgement to our ancestors. Our sommeliers share the story of the up-and-coming Cape Brandy scene. KING OF FLOWERS 10 Regal and majestic, the King Protea has been a fascination to horticulturists and travellers. We tell the story of South Africa's most iconic flower. Richard Lyon FULL MARKS 11 One&Only Cape Town's Neo Boutique gets ten out of ten for its Limited Edition creative piece in whites, silvers and golds, to celebrate our tenth anniversary. NOBU 14 There are few restauranteurs that can rest their brand on their first name alone. We ask the globally renowned and highly popular chef, his thoughts on Cape Town, One&Only, and what makes a great partnership. ON THE WATERFRONT 16 The development of the V&A Waterfront is a success story not just in South Africa, but across the continent. The future is as interesting as its past. THE INSIDE TRACK 18 Roberto Garrone, our Resort Manager, provides a peek into a handful of the new experiences he has been working on within the resort. Dr. Esther Mahlangu, a South African art icon, adorns our cover of OneLife Volume Four. We have established a permanent gallery within the resort that narrates the stories of Africa through a rotational programme of SO MUCH OF WHO WE ARE IS Continental contemporary art exhibitions. Like Dr. Esther, One&Only Cape Town is global and yet African, and while she is most certainly reputable WHERE WE HAVE BEEN and established, she remains wonderfully modern and current in her Created for One&Only Cape Town by MediaWeb - [email protected] Editor: Dean McCoubrey Art Director: Karmen van Rensburg expression. We think you’ll love our story about her achievements on page 4. William Langewiesche Cover photograph: Victor Dlamini 03 OneLife volumevolume fourfour Arts. And cul ture Mam' Esther It’s refreshing to be humbled by someone before you’ve spoken to them, simply because their seated demeanour and an unflinching sense of being comfortable in their own skin, speaks louder than any words could. AS I ARRIVE IN THE RECEPTION Mam' Esther was born on 11 November However, her global art journey only Museum, Bilbao, Spain, and collaborated of One&Only Cape Town, Esther Nik- 1935 in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, started in the late 1980s. Some French with Belvedere Vodka and John Legend, wambi Mahlangu and her interpreter South Africa. She relates how her early collectors had visited her village, and the popular U.S. musician, to design stand out among other guests. She is years and how this life of hers, as an fascinated by her work, they took photos the labels for a limited-edition range of dressed head to toe (literally) in the artistic visionary, unfolded, saying, of the distinct Ndebele patterns and Vodka bottles to raise money for the fight traditional garb of the Ndebele people “When my mother and grandmother beadworks they found there, taking the against HIV/AIDS in Africa. In 2016, she of South Africa, and I am immediately were painting our house and went for a images back to France. After several collaborated with BMW again by paint- confronted by my own Western banality. rest, I used to go to work on the house. months the Parisians returned, adamant ing panels in their new 7 Series for the But when they came back, they could to seek her out, and tracing her to the Frieze London Art Fair and participated Those travelling with her - three see the lines weren’t straight and the open-air museum of Ndebele culture, in the ‘SA – Art of a Nation’ exhibition generations of women - are identical in way they should be, and they asked Botshabelo Historical Village, where she at the British Museum with one of her their wardrobe, and I’m outnumbered, works selected to decorate the catalogue. ‘Esther, what are you doing?’ They worked between 1980 and 1991. The Melrose Gallery on the first floor of our intensifying my own self-reflection. Her insisted that I must never do it again.” resort showcases and celebrates the work and global renown for bringing the Ndebele She breaks into laughter, as I anticipate In 1989, Mam' Esther was invited to Mam' Esther lives in Mpumalanga ideas of Pan African Contemporary artists, pattern to the global stage has been what happened next. “The next day I attend a European contemporary art with her children, grandchildren and quite remarkable, and it is somehow did the same thing again.” exhibition called Magiciens de la Terre great-grandchildren. She used funds unveiling six paintings created for this specific further magnified by her age and unas- (Magicians of the World) where she from the sale of her works and mural occasion by Dr Esther Mahlangu. In March she suming humility. Scolded, but not deterred, she was gained international attention after commissions to establish an art school launched ‘TIMELESS’, a captivating group re-directed to a less public location to painting a house in front of thousands at her home in Mabhoko where many exhibition that encapsulates the diversity, artistic Brands such as Fiat, EYTYS, Beleverde practice her art. “When you want to do of visitors, taking between three to four young artists have learnt the traditional talent and legacy of both established and the British Museum have worked this painting like us, go to the back of weeks to complete the work. Various com- art of the Ndebele under her mentorship. and emerging artists including Willie Bester, with her, British Airways has used her the house,” they insisted. Mam' Esther missions and projects in France followed, Students are taught how to mix pigments Paul Blomkamp, Christiaan Diedericks, designs on the tails of their planes, and worked tirelessly until she got better. including decorating a wall inside the and paint the straight lines that are so Aza Mansongi, Clint Strydom, NdabukoNtuli, BMW commissioned her to design an Before long, she was invited back to the Angoul Áame Museum of Fine Arts. important in Ndebele design, using their Ronald Muchatuta, and Restone Maambo. ‘Art Car’ - making her both the first front of the house. fingers or chicken feathers, just as she female and the first African to do so By 1990 she received the first of many in- did, seven decades ago. after the likes of Warhol, Hockney and “In those days they were using cow dung vitations to paint murals in public spaces Stella. She has collaborated with nu- and clay soil - just a few colours, brown, and to participate in exhibitions in more “It’s my dream that all people cherish merous respected museums, galleries, black and dark brown. I was painting than 12 countries. Mam' Esther became and hold onto their culture – not just artists, curators and brands during her just with chicken feathers, it was old the first artist to transfer the traditional the Ndebele people,” she says. “My illustrious career. style,” she says. The more we talk, the modern abstract Ndebele designs, typi- passion is for us all to know where we more playfulness and frivolity break cally created as murals, to canvases. This come from, and not to just focus on a Did I mention she is now 83 years old – through the language barrier, as we gave her the ability to accept invitations Western lifestyle.” and still working all over the world? become united by the same purpose - to participate in many more exhibitions to tell her story.
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