iLanga Lenkumbulo

iLanga Lenkumbulo, the Sun of Memories, is a lamp that symbolises light for John Kani, for theatre, and for the role he has played in preserving the isiXhosa language and placing it on an international platform. In this way he becomes a beacon of hope for the language.

Words laser-cut from his scripts are cast as shadows onto nearby surfaces, so memory and language become light. The design developed through five iterations of sketches before the final lamp, shown here in the exhibition space of Umthambo Wamazwi, an isiXhosa museum.