BMW debuts i5 Flow Nostokana designed by Dr Esther Mahlangu
The BMW i5 Flow Nostokana combines art and design through progressive colour-changing technology.
BMW has once again turned to renowned South African artist Dr Esther Mahlangu for its latest Art Car i5 – the Flow Nostokana – while leveraging its colour-changing technology.
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“The BMW i5 Flow Nostokana honours the history of the BMW brand and continues the story of our global cultural engagement in a unique way. It combines art and design through progressive technology. Here, technology itself becomes art,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, head of BMW Group Design.
Mahlangu is a celebrated South African artist known for her Ndebele paintings, which traditionally symbolised significant events or festive occasions, and is credited with transferring this style to canvas, carpets and other objects. In 1991, she designed the 12th BMW Art car – a 525i adorned with Ndebele paintings. Now, the 88-year-old artist has applied her designs to the latest all-electric 5 series offering. The i5 Flow Nostokana – the name of which is derived from her first son’s name – utilises BMW’s colour-changing technology and 1 349 sections of E-Ink film that allow portions of the bright geometric artwork to be electronically animated. The E-Ink film, in tandem with BMW’s colour-changing technology, allows the structure and arrangement of the colour particles to be changed by applying an electric voltage, effectively allowing for the patterns and colours of Dr Mahlangu’s artwork to feature constantly changing compositions.
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“It is fascinating to me to see how modern technology can expand my art and make it accessible to a completely new audience,” says Mahlangu.
Interestingly, a specially developed sound, developed by Renzo Vitale, who serves as the BMW Group’s creative director, is comprised of sequences of Mahlangu’s voice and the feather utilised for painting. The i5 Flow Nostokana Art Car will be displayed by the Iziko Museums of South Africa and the BMW Group in Cape Town. The exhibition will run until the 11th of August and serve to honour the artist’s work.
Related: BMW’s Iconic Esther Mahlangu 525i Art Car Confirmed for Cape Town
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