Toronto-based designer Nicole Nomsa Moyo has unveiled a series of interactive sculptures that resemble oversized bracelets, necklaces and earrings informed by the jewellery of southern Africa’s Ndebele tribe as part of Miami art week 2024.
The Pearl Jam installation is spread throughout the central Palm Court in the Miami Design District and in front of the Design Miami tent in Miami Beach and marks the tenth edition of the Annual Design Commission, which was previously awarded to designer Lara Bohinc and Chilean studio GT2P.
The installation consists of large aluminium “beads” and other jewellery pieces distributed across the grounds of the plaza and over 1,000 beaded “earrings” that hang in the trees above, handcrafted by women artisans of the Ndebele tribe.
According to Moyo, who was born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa, the installation pays homage to her culture, as well as to the concept of womanhood.
“The jewellery piece was really about thinking about my culture as a prized possession and about being a woman – something that you wear proudly,” Moyo told Dezeen.
“Traditionally, we express ourselves through our clothing and our necklaces. We haven’t been able to do it at such a large scale, where anyone from any culture can interact with it, which is great.”
Made largely of aluminium and covered in a range of patterns, the ground-level pieces are meant to be interacted with by passersby, from toddlers to adults, as the pieces range in height from 15 centimetres to two metres tall.
They are covered in patterns of primary colours, motifs informed by houses of the Ndebele tribe.
“It’s very tribal,” Moyo said. “Traditionally, women were the ones who were the architects. They would be the ones that would paint our homes in very bright, vibrant colors. It was a sign of culture, of wealth, of community.”
It’s the colours that I love, that feel warm, that feel inviting, that also enhance the art pieces.
Moyo worked with an industrial fabricator to create the majority of the pieces and hand-painted a large semi-circle bracelet that sits in front of the Fly’s Eye Dome designed by Buckminster Fuller.
For the spheres or “pearls” that hang among the trees, she worked with over 50 women to create the pieces, which also feature geometric patterns in a variety of primary and vibrant colours.
“Those were done by artisans in southern Africa, mainly women, who this is their livelihood,” Moyo said. “The pearls in the tree are also unique because it’s a different hand that would make them.”
“The constant is the colours, but there was also a lot of flexibility in the process.”
Moyo estimates over 100,000 beads were used to create the pieces.
The designer notes that the installation allows the public to engage with African art, versus the more commonplace American or European art found in the public realm.
“You see American art or European art in different countries, but you don’t get to engage with African art like this,” Moyo said. “So this is very humbling, but also very monumental.”
“I hope this is a sign of more opportunities for people to express African culture in the public realm.”
Pearl Jam is among several large-scale installations and exhibitions on show during Miami art week 2024; we rounded up eight must-see installations here, while last year, design fair Alcova presented its first US edition in the city.
The photography is by Kris Tamburello
Miami art week takes place from 2 to 8 December in Miami, US. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
