Decorex 2024 celebrates the launch of the ‘Art of A9’ collaboration between the renowned Bang & Olufsen (B&O) and Joburg-based neo-expressionist, Lulama ‘Wolf’ Mlambo. Marking her as the first South African to join forces with the brand’s ‘Art of A9’ project.

The luxury Danish brand (B&O), with its long and rich history, is renowned for creating audio and home entertainment products of the highest quality. With a range of offerings from headphones to televisions, they are known for their superior craft and ability to seamlessly integrate exceptional sound quality with great design. The brand’s three primary materials– wood, aluminium and fabric–combine to create textured, functional pieces of design. 

As we enter women’s month and B&O celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Beosound A9 speaker, they have called on the accomplished Lulama Wolf to be the first South African creative to take part in the ‘Art of A9’ collaborative project. This is a project which has invited artists such as Jean Jullien, Manon Cezaro and MonoNeon to reimagine the speaker’s face through art and design. 

Wolf, a multi-media visual artist and creative researcher, has been in residence, exhibited at and collaborated with many notable institutions, the world over. Known for her use of texture, colour, and movement, the collaboration with B&O was certainly imminent. 

The partnership is a natural fit, with B&O representative Katie Coetzee stating that “a lot of her (Wolf’s) current and most recent work is inspired by jazz. And so threading that kind of golden weave of work that is inspired by music and applying that onto the medium through which sound would come, is quite an obvious choice”. Agreeing, Wolf adds that she has “always been interested in what sonics and sound has become for [her] practice”. She continues, “I think it was a great way to authenticate it for myself as well.” 

The collaboration which is a merger of art, design and music at the highest level sees Wolf using a mixture of acrylic paint and sand, creating on the speaker-turned-canvas, a soft yet moving piece. It is much in her known style of rounded and fluid forms that beckon to moments of movement and stillness. A figure rests and listens. A figure rests and creates. 

Her use of sand in the work heightens the texture of the speaker’s fabric mesh and makes the piece not just a sonic but a tangible experience. It is a meeting of many senses and a communion of multiple art forms. 

“I’m quite raw and authentic in the sense that I use materials that are from the earth. So, it was a great crossroads to bring it into such a technical environment where precision is everything, but for me, precision is not everything. So, I needed to bring it out for myself and see how we can cross those roads together”. 

Referencing part of her ongoing artistic practice, Wolf mentions that this collaboration was an opportunity to extend her research around women in Jazz. She calls specifically on the work of photographer James Bonner, Southern African music histories, and instrumental ambient music. She views these as modes of extending and entering those parts of herself that resonate with and reflect the work of women in Jazz.

Following its unveiling at ‘100% Design’ at Decorex Joburg, this one-of-a-kind Beosound A9, customised by Lulama Wolf, will be auctioned this August.

Decorex Joburg runs until 4 August.