2024-02-29 23:33:25
The BMW Group is now presenting a fusion of art and innovation at the Frieze Los Angeles art fair: the BMW i5 Flow NOSTOKANA. The vehicle combines the technology of changing colors developed at BMW with the artistic language of the South African artist Esther Mahlangu. The designer piece, which is equipped with electrically animable film segments, embodies the latest development stage in color changing technology for vehicle surfaces, which was developed in cooperation with E Ink. It will celebrate its world premiere at the opening of the trade fair on February 29, 2024. As a contemporary homage, it is reminiscent of the BMW Art Car designed by Esther Mahlangu in 1991. “The BMW i5 Flow NOSTOKANA is a tribute to the history of the BMW brand and continues the story of our global cultural commitment in a special way. He combines art and design through progressive technology. Here, technology itself becomes art,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design.
In 1991, Esther Mahlangu – the first woman and the first African artist – designed the 12th BMW Art Car based on a BMW 525i. “Your art inspired me years ago, when dynamic color changes on the body of a BMW were nothing more than an initial idea,” says Stella Clarke, Research Engineer Open Innovations at the BMW Group. “To realize this idea now and to work with Esther Mahlangu is an overwhelming experience.” The 88-year-old artist’s characteristic colors and geometric patterns are ideal for transferring the innovative flow technology to the BMW i5. The versatility of electrophoretic color changes makes the all-electric sedan a dynamic work of art. “It fascinates me to see how modern technology expands my art and makes it accessible to a completely new audience,” says Esther Mahlangu.
World premiere at Frieze Los Angeles
© BMW Media
Esther Mahlangu’s art meets innovative cutting-edge technology.
On the BMW i5 Flow NOSTOKANA, whose name takes up the name of Esther Mahlangu’s first son, the animatable film segments extend in two strips each over the roof, hood and rear as well as over the sides of the vehicle. Similar to an e-book reader, there are several million microcapsules in each E Ink film. The color particles they contain can be changed in structure and arrangement by electrical voltage. As a result, the colors and patterns typical of Esther Mahlangu’s art are presented in ever new compositions.
The animations are accompanied by an equally extraordinary sound, which was composed specifically for the BMW i5 Flow NOSTOKANA by Renzo Vitale, Creative Director Sound of the BMW Group. To unite the sound worlds of the BMW brand and the South African Ndebele culture, he used sound sequences from Esther Mahlangu’s voice and the sound of the pens she used to draw. They are combined with the sounds that colored pencils produce in the BMW design studio and the acoustic signal that can be heard as feedback when operating the touch display in the BMW i5. This created a sound mixture that is gently tuned at the beginning of each color change and increases in intensity as the animation progresses.
Color-changing technology reinterprets characteristic ornaments
© BMW Media
In order to stage the complex ornaments in detail, the BMW i5 Flow NOSTOKANA is provided with 1,349 film segments, each of which can be controlled individually. The laser cutting process used to cut the film and the electronic control design were developed together with partner E Ink. The adaptation to curved surfaces and the programmed animations are proprietary developments of the BMW Group.
Overall, color changing technology is developing rapidly. The BMW iX Flow featuring E Ink, presented in 2022 with its switch between white and black at the push of a button, was followed by the first multi-colored implementation just a year later. Up to 32 colors might be displayed on the 240 film segments of the BMW i Vision Dee. The latest development stage now enables even more colors and patterns. At the same time, the film segments become more robust, which makes potential future series production easier. For now, the BMW i5 Flow NOSTOKANA remains a one-off.
Complex colors and patterns show future potential for individualized vehicles
© BMW Media
Homage to an art pioneer and her works.
A globally respected artist, Esther Mahlangu is known for her Ndebele paintings, whose ornaments originally symbolized important events or celebratory occasions. Esther Mahlangu has separated them from their original meaning and transferred them to canvases, carpets or everyday objects for the first time, thereby preserving them for the future. The BMW i5 Flow NOSTOKANA now reinterprets this artificial language.
When BMW presents the designer piece at Frieze Los Angeles, it is a continuation of the long-standing cooperation with the renowned art fair. At the same time, the BMW Art Car to which the homage refers can be seen in South Africa – for the first time in more than 30 years. It is part of the exhibition “Then I Knew I Was Good at Painting”: Esther Mahlangu presented by Iziko Museums of South Africa and the BMW Group in Cape Town. A Retrospective, which honors the life’s work of one of South Africa’s most important artists and cultural ambassadors until August 11, 2024.
In Los Angeles, BMW is once once more presenting Frieze Music at Frieze. Since 2019, the two partners’ joint initiative has brought together a large number of musicians at the interface between music and art. The event’s return to Los Angeles will be celebrated with a live performance by Sudan Archives at the Hammer Museum on February 29th.
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