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Design by Garth Walker -
Design by Garth Walker -
Design by Garth Walker -
Design by Conrad Botes and Anton Kannemeyer -
Design by Conrad Botes
WORDS Sean O’Toole
Legendary South African design zine iJusi is having a retrospective exhibition at the Michaelis Galleries in Cape Town from 26 June to 24 July. An official World Design Capital 2014 project, we asked Sean O’Toole to give us the lowdown on founder Garth Walker.
All you need to know about graphic designer Garth Walker is summarised in one word: collector.
A Joburg-born Durbanite, Garth has collected everything from vintage racing bicycles to Zulu headrests, mid-century glassware and contemporary photography. He is a discriminating collector – Garth was an early adopter of Pieter Hugo’s photography. In many ways, the story of his celebrated design magazine, ijusi, which he founded in 1995, is a story wrapped up in his love of photography.
Self-published and produced in his spare time, ijusi was – and still is – a magazine of strange diversions. Themes like naughty sex, religion and human rights have over the years been interpreted by designers, typographers, illustrators, photographers and writers – some famous, others not. The first issue, “Afrocentric Design Adventure”, set the tone. Now numbering 28 issues, it has featured work by designers Roy Clucas and Nathan Reddy, comic boys Anton Kannemeyer and Conrad Botes, and photography by Roger Ballen.
With copies distributed by hand and post, ijusi was always a costly labour of love. When Garth shut Orange Juice Design Studios in 2008 – he now trades as Mister Walker – he had a rethink. Working with Dutchmann’s Gavin Rooke, he has produced two collectable portfolios of key work from past issues.
But what if you want a back copy of an early issue? “Knock on my door and I’ll give you one,” says Garth in his typically droll manner. He isn’t joking.
In the 1970s, while studying graphic design in Durban, Garth met printmaker-in-training, Stephen Inggs. “I had a dark room at home,” recalls Stephen. “Garth and I would experiment on portraits, using multiple exposure with black-and-white film.” Decades later, Stephen, now a professor at Michaelis, is overseeing Garth’s ijusi exhibition at the Michaelis Galleries, part of the World Design Capital 2014 programme.
