Weaving Lineages: The Evolution of Telewire in the Mash.T Material Language
At Mash.T, working with telewire has become an important part of how we translate lineages of craft through generational artisanship – a philosophy that sits at the heart of our practice.
We first introduced telewire into our material language more than five years ago when we began collaborating with Bab Alfred Ntuli, a master wire weaver whose decades of experience brought a remarkable depth of knowledge to the process.
We are proud to introduce Orbit, the newest addition to our Collectables Portfolio, first showcased earlier this year at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair.
The journey of making rarely moves in a straight line.
When we first began working with Bab Alfred Ntuli, our focus was simply to move through the first design together – what would eventually become the Alfred Pendant. At the time, we weren’t thinking about a long trajectory of collaboration or about building a shared material language. We were simply trying to bring an idea to life.
Like most creative processes, the path required patience and iteration. Ideas were tested, reshaped, and sometimes abandoned before finding their way again. At one point, Bab Alfred almost stepped away entirely. The pressure of developing a collaborator’s idea can feel overwhelming – especially when you find yourself in that murky middle where you’ve come too far to stop, but the end is still unclear.
Fortunately, he stayed with it.
When the final piece was resolved, it emerged beautifully. Bab Alfred often spoke about that moment with pride – grateful that he pushed through the uncertainty.
For Bab Alfred, however, the story of craft began long before our collaboration.
“Back in 1976, I used to work with a man named Ernest Makwakwa… he was the one who first showed me the different kinds of patterns one could make through craft designs,” Ntuli once recalled. “When I first saw the patterns, I said to myself, ‘This is nice!’ Naturally, I had always loved crafts and working with my hands.”
Nearly a decade later, his journey deepened when he met pioneering weavers Bheki Dlamini and the late Elliot Mkhize, who introduced him to the art of wire weaving.
“I hadn’t really been making money from my crafts until 1986 when I met Dlamini,” he explained. “He helped me sell my products and introduced me to the African Art Centre.”
The African Art Centre in Durban, established in 1959, became an important platform for many artisans, providing space for makers to market their work while preserving indigenous craft traditions. In the early days, materials were difficult to find.
Bab Alfred recalled searching for discarded wire wherever he could, sometimes collecting scraps from nearby graveyards. Eventually, he discovered a shop in Pinetown where he could reliably purchase the wire and strings that would later define his distinctive craftsmanship.
Through decades of making, telewire became central to his practice – a material whose flexibility and strength allowed for intricate weaving and expressive form.
Bab Alfred passed away a few years ago, but his legacy continues through the knowledge he shared with his children, who continue to weave remarkable objects that now find homes across the world.
At Mash.T, telewire has since become an important part of how we translate lineages of craft through generational artisanship – allowing knowledge, technique, and material intelligence to move from one generation of makers to the next.
Orbit continues this story.
Crafted from telewire, copper, and mild steel, the piece carries a suspended, gravitational quality. Multiple elements circle a central axis, appearing balanced yet in motion – like satellites caught mid-dance.
The piece reflects the material intelligence embedded within telewire – a humble industrial material that, through the hands of skilled artisans, becomes a medium capable of remarkable delicacy, structure, and expression.
For collectors and Conscious Aesthetes who seek objects that hold both story and substance, Orbit offers a quiet but powerful presence – a piece where material intelligence, and contemporary design converge
