Soulful singer, John Legend has collaborated with legendary South African visual artist, Esther Mahlangu on the new Belvedere vodka campaign.
Esteemed locally for her cultural contributions, Gogo Mahlangu (as she is affectionately dubbed) continues to put her Ndebele culture on the map. This is not new to Gogo Mahlangu’s oeuvre. She has also worked with big brands such as BMW, Rolls Royce and now Belvedere.
Age ain’t nothing but a number
To those who think dream chasing ends when you exit your twenties, Gogo Mahlangu teaches us how false that is.
At the age of 87 years old, Gogo Mahlangu is still a trailblazer and showing no signs of slowing down.
Back in 1991, she painted the traditional Ndebele geometric patterns on a BMW 525i, which garnered global attention. She became the twelfth artist and the first woman to participate in the BMW Art Car Project after the likes of heavyweights in the industry, such as Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein and Frank Stella.
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The Polish vodka brand says that the design was inspired by the campaign’s four values: security, support, change and unity.
It’s Doctor Mahlangu, actually
Doctor Mahlangu has been awarded three honorary doctorates from South African universities in her lifetime. In 2018, Gogo Mahlangu was awarded an honorary doctorate for her contribution to South African arts by the University of Johannesburg, followed by the Durban University of Technology, and the Tshwane University of Technology.
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Netizens want more for Gogo Mahlangu
As Dr Mahlangu was the one to share the Belvedere campaign on her Instagram profile, netizens have posed the question asking why she has not been credited on the bottle, while John Legend has his signature featured on the bottle.
Since both Belvedere and John Legend have yet to announce the collaboration on their official channels, they still have some time to put some respect on Dr Mahlangu’s name.
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Feature image: @esthermahlanguart/ Instagram
