the throne THETHRONE.CO.ZA MAY 2018
LULAMA WOLF
IDENTITY | adidas ARKYN | STORY TELLING
the throne an independent publication
Editor-in-chief
Caron Williams
Cover Star
Lulama Wolf
Creative Director
Lulama Wolf
Photographer
Andile Buka
Stylist
Lulama Wolf
Assistant Stylist Make-up Artist Featured Brands Commissioned by
Azania Forest Khumo Ngwenya (Mka Beauty) adidas Originals ARKYN Girl About Town
The adidas ARKYN is available at a retail price of R1999 at adidas Originals stores, select retailers and www.adidas.co.za
The Throne Magazine is published independently by The Throne Agency (PTY) LTD. caron@thethrone.co.za | www.thethrone.co.za
EDITOR'S LETTER The May Issue of The Throne explores identity through creative expression with Lulama Wolf and adidas arkyn. As a ‘creative’ attempting to navigate life, forging my own identity has been a complex, evolving journey. Watching creatives I revere transform their experiences into marvelous, engulfing creative expressions has been an incredible solace for me. What does identity even mean in 2018? It’s no longer prepackaged, we’re in an era where we truly have to interrogate who we are and what defines us, and as daunting as that may be at times, it’s truly an exhilarating experience. I also believe part of who you are or deciding who you want to be involves choosing to give in to fear or choosing courage in many aspects of our lives.
The bravest thing I’ve ever done was to start The Throne. I’d never felt such tangible fear before, but that fear was one of the best things that could have happened to me. It ignited a passion I had long forgotten and reminded me of who I had always known I was. I’m brave, to a fault perhaps. I speak my mind, I challenge people and institutions, I stand up for what I believe in, and there’s truly no other way I’d ever want to live my life. Starting the Throne made me feel time alive for the first in a very, very long time and I wish everyone could experience that. I see so much potential in so many of my peers and that’s why I’m so proud to be part of CAN DO!’s #UnbreakableS2 campaign. Pursue that dream you have, enter today, change your life.
THE IDENTITY ISSUE An exploration of identity through fashion, art, and storytelling.
LULAMA WOLF EXPLORING IDENTITY THROUGH CREATIVE EXPRESSION, FASHION AND ART
Lulama Wolf has forged an extraordinary career and disseminated an impressive catalogue of work as an authentic and inspired creative and content creator. She has immersed herself within the art of visual storytelling, with her compelling visual narratives and passion leading her to her next great creative expression, art. I sat down with Lulama to chat about how she has forged her distinct identity, her passion for storytelling, creative journey and content collaboration with adidas Originals and their brand new ARKYN silhouette. Q: You have such a distinct and defined identity. What does Identity mean to you and how do you define it?
A: I’ve been going through an identity crisis for the longest time because I know what I don’t want, but I don’t know what I want. I know I don’t want to be a bad person and I want to do good in the general sense. In terms of visual identity, I’ve always known that as a fine artist, you become so trapped in what you want your work to be like, you forget that you have an identity to look after as well. Your work looks amazing but you’re not always too sure of your identity. Because I like to gel lifestyle and fashion into my life, I’m not a one dimensional artist that just takes care of her work and nothing else. My identity has been built from knowing what I want visually because of the fact that I know that I don’t want a lot of colour when I represent
myself - I want more shape, form and detail rather than colour. I’m attracted to a lot of shape, form, structure, detail and colour plays in after each of those have been analysed. I’m also inspired by how my favourite artists represent themselves. Picasso is one of my favourite artists but I also have a love/hate relationship with him. JeanMichel Basquiat has created an aesthetic for himself that has become the blueprint for many modern artists – the hair and the baggy Balenciaga inspired feel. Q: How has your background and your heritage influenced your identity? A: I grew up with minimal information about my heritage. When I was younger,
I hadn’t seen pictures of my grandparents or great grandparents from my Dad’s side. I don’t know how they look, I don’t know a lot about them and that is the same for a lot of our history. We don’t know who our Kings or Queens were, did we have any Queens and Kings in different tribes and what were they like? What did they do and who did they influence before we became what we are? I’m slowly finding bits and pieces of that information but I’m trying to recreate those stories in a way that I understand and view it. I just want to ensure those stories live longer and that’s where the documenter comes into play. Q: Do you think your online persona reflects your real life identity, or do they represent different facets of who you are? A: My online personal represents the positive side of me. I’m into storytelling and I want to tell stories in the most creative way possible so that it lives longer. I channel or express my negative side creatively in interviews or in a documentary for example – something that’s going to live longer than my online persona, but it’s not something I give people access to online. If I create or paint, you’ll see that side of me, but it will be expressed very creatively and tell a story. Q: What was the creative inspiration behind the shoot? A: The idea of shooting with mirrors, fabric and land was an existing concept that Khumo and I had whilst building on a passion project we had wanted to shoot. The timing of this campaign came in a week before we were meant to shoot it. What adidas had wanted from me could be brought to life much sooner and could have a brand collaboration aspect. I changed a few things to accommodate the brand and to accommodate us well. It came from us understanding that we needed to tell more of our creative stories and we needed to create an understanding of what visual story telling really is as opposed to just shooting fashion, beauty or just make-up – the combination of fashion, make-up and art had to come together because we are passionate about all of those things. adidas approached me and is a brand I’ve been loyal to for a while and they’ve been loyal to me as well, so what better way to tell a story than with a brand which has always told stories. They tell stories from different perspectives – from sports to lifestyle to culture.
Q: What do you love about the adidas Originals ARKYN silhouette? A: I am in love with prime knit feel that it has; I love a shoe that hugs me. The NMD is masculine and anyone can wear it, but the ARKYN offers a more defined and feminine look so you can wear it with anything. You can be functional and completely stylish. I love the white ARKYN, it’s my favourite. The pink one is also a lovely blush colour and they’re so comfortable, I love that. Q: In terms of your collaboration with adidas Originals and their incredible ARKYN silhouette, which characteristics are important to you in adidas as a brand? A: I’ve been very loyal to adidas since 2015. They stick to storytelling, they stick to diversity, they stick to freedom of expression.
Q: How important is diversity and representation in fashion, media, the content creation field, art and within brands? A: When a brand offers authentic diversity, it speaks to you, but when brands do it from an opportunistic perspective that’s when it becomes offensive. It has to come from an organic and authentic place. Q: Can you please touch on your transition into the art world? A: I’ve done art my whole life. I dropped out in my second year of Art and since then I’ve understood what I want from it because I’ve known about it all my life. Right now, I just want to create work that I’m ready to let other people see. I’m ready to tell stories about myself again and what I’ve been through and where I come from.
I WANT TO TELL STORIES IN THE MOST CREATIVE WAY POSSIBLE. - LULAMA WOLF
The ARKYNÂ is available at a retail price of R1999 at adidas Originals stores, select retailers and www.adidas.co.za.