TOTEMIC: Modular African Design Rooted in Circularity, Collaboration and Contemporary Craft

There is something instinctively grounding about forms that rise from the earth — stacked, balanced, carrying quiet meaning. TOTEMIC draws on this sensibility, presenting modular design not simply as a functional system, but as a philosophy shaped by circularity, collaboration and an expressive African identity.

Featuring new prototypes by Mash.T Design Studio and TheUrbanative, the installation unfolds as a contemporary totemic field. Curated by Hoven for its presentation at Cape Town Furniture Week, the project brings together objects that operate as markers of shared authorship and material inquiry.

Across cultures, totems have signified belonging — visible symbols of ancestry, protection and collective belief. Here, that language is reinterpreted through material experimentation. Waste, error and offcuts are not discarded, but embraced as generative forces. Process becomes visible. Imperfection becomes structure. Functional forms emerge that hold memory in subtle, tactile ways.

Founded by Thabisa Mjo in Johannesburg, Mash.T Design Studio is celebrated for sculptural furniture and lighting that weave traditional craft techniques into contemporary African narratives. TheUrbanative offers a complementary sensibility, grounded in material intelligence and deliberate construction. Under Hoven’s curatorial eye, the works move beyond standalone pieces; they become vessels of labour, intention and shared vision.

Each module speaks to the many hands involved in its making. Timber, texture and joinery carry stories of collaboration between designers, craftspeople and institutions. The result is an installation that feels alive — adaptive, shape-shifting and resonant.

Ultimately, TOTEMIC proposes a gentler understanding of modularity. It is not only about how parts connect, but how ideas, histories and people align. Within this field of forms, design becomes a quiet act of continuity: rooted in heritage, responsive to the present, and open to collective futures.

MASH T AXIS: The Collection

Emerging directly from an apprenticeship model within Mash.T Studio, Axis took shape over months of close, hands-on exchange between master artisans and emerging makers. Rather than beginning with a predetermined outcome, the collection evolved through the act of learning itself — allowing repetition, trial and discovery to guide the final forms.

At Mash.T, apprenticeship extends beyond technical skill. It cultivates a way of thinking and observing; a discipline of working with intention. In this environment, embarrassment is understood as the cost of entry, and failure as a necessary step toward audacity and mastery. Knowledge is not simply transferred — it is absorbed through proximity, practice and trust.

As the collection developed, offcuts and surplus materials became visible traces of this learning curve. What might otherwise have been discarded as waste became evidence of experimentation and problem-solving. Reframed through a master maker’s design perspective, these fragments were reintroduced as intentional components, aligning seamlessly with the studio’s sculptural language.

The resulting pieces foreground transferability as a core value. Modular forms make skills and systems visible — and repeatable. Each component can be understood, reconstructed and reinterpreted over time. The objects speak not only to form and function, but to the months of apprenticeship behind them: the technical fluency gained, the mindset shaped, and the collective effort of many hands. In this way, Axis articulates what Mash.T stands for — audacious design, honest making, and systems built to endure.

WADI

Designed by TheUrbanative, the Wadi Screen takes its name from the Swahili word for “valley.” The piece functions as a freestanding spatial divider, its layered hand-woven yarn and sculptural wool reliefs echoing the shifting textures and rhythms of natural landscapes.

A deliberately fabricated powder-coated steel frame provides architectural clarity and cadence, while a hand-woven wool panel introduces softness, depth and visual permeability. The textile component is produced in collaboration with Grey Room using wool supplied by Weluka, foregrounding wool as both structural and expressive material.

Anchored by a solid Kiaat wood base finished in a red cherry stain, the screen signals the studio’s ongoing material exploration. The extension of colour into stained timber establishes a cohesive dialogue between wood, metal and textile — a considered interplay of weight and lightness, rigidity and tactility.

Within TOTEMIC’s wider installation, Wadi reads as both threshold and landscape: a modular gesture that divides space while deepening it. Together, these works articulate a design ethos in which circularity is embedded, collaboration is visible, and modularity becomes a living, cultural language rather than a purely technical solution.