#12: Seli Kutame (GUSHER)

This week we are joined by architecture student, editor & multidisciplinary artist, Seli Kutame, who tells us more about APOC furniture, Gen z shitpost memes, AND makes us a playlist! Plus more.

Seli Kutame is a Cape Town-based 2nd year architecture student, editor for GUSHER’s in-house magazine, & self-taught multidisciplinary artist. She explores making stuff with her hands and tools & is inspired by pretty, cluttered shit. She has ventured into quite a few interests but is currently focused on crocheting, playing the violin, 3D motion art, and design.

We welcome her to The FRM Newsletter to share what she’s been into recently :)

👛❤️‍🔥 Carboot felt bags

I found these on APOC store (an online fashion, art and furniture store) and have been heavily considering dropping a fat band on these ever since. It’s hard not to obsess over their felted contrasting color palettes, patterns and that heart charm that goes around the handles of every bag. Their chunky round bags and hand sculpted mini totes have to be my favourite.

🪆🪞 APOC furniture/art

I love going through the APOC art section. Leads to great inspo for my own passion projects.

🥮💐 Rustcakes!

I don’t regularly bake cakes or anything but I think about rustcakes a lot. I’m obsessed with how they look. Very maximalist of them to look like that. I enjoy their pretty, delicate but chunky details and delicious color palettes. I haven’t ever actually eaten one. I’m here for the visual aspect of the rustcake.

🎧🎶 A playlist

I can’t really recommend like, one or a few songs. Feels similar to being asked what my favourite song/artist is — you will be met with a blank stare. I just don’t have a favourite. I love all my music equally, I think ಠ_ಠ. I made a playlist (Spotify, Apple Music) comprised of a variety of moods. Make sure to listen to it in order cause I tried something with the transitions ;)

🪐🪸 UNIF illustrated & collage campaigns

Often collaborating with up-and-coming artists like jyuub, vcoolgirl00 and s7keangel, and more known people—frankdorrey, myokahara,  uou___cute— UNIF captures soft, bright and chidlike vs grimy, punk, with a dash of quirk and sarcasm. My favourite thing is to deep dive into the artists’ individual work, until nothing but "pretty" rings in my head. Really zhuzhes up my perception of the world. Pretty world or nothing.

 📺👾 Secrets and Lies in a Town of Sinners(2020) by Johnni Phillips

My baby put me on to this one. A short 10-episode animated series with a simplified but hilariously expressive animation style. The voice acting and lil sound effects will probably have you chuckling. The creators’ intention at adding depth is noticeable from the jump. They play on a few themes, mainly religious & mental health related issues and dynamics within society.

Kaomojis! ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ †_(ﾟｰﾟ*)β

Can’t get enough of these Japanese-style emoticons. Great range of subtle to over-the-top emotional/expression, plus you can customise them to fit your very context. There’s a lot to work with.

🗿🤡 Gen z shitpost memes

Shitpost memes combine irony and nostalgia, often characterised by Word Art typography, mismatched fonts, bold primary colours, deep fried, low quality images, sometimes ridiculously HD images (HD donkae) and cursed, chaotic, bass boosted videos. Many Instagram accounts house this type of humour, a few including fruitpunch.mp4, djinn_kazama & patiasfantasyworld. Good for consumption when life’s downs have depleted your braincells.

⭐️✴️ Stars!

Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten-pointed stars. All of them. I find five pointed stars to be iconic but I also really enjoy how > seven pointed stars resemble flowers. I suggest that you slap stars in any form on everything possible.