The Hand-in-Hand T-Shirt, featuring artwork from Cape Town-based artist Yay Abe (Russell Abrahams), forms part of Good Good Good’s Heritage Day capsule. Three South African artists, including Russell, were commissioned to create artworks celebrating elements of what it means to them to be South African. Russel’s T-Shirt features graphics of three racially diverse South African characters, contently embracing on the front of the tee and dancing hand-in-hand on the back, surrounded by classic South African motifs. These include our national flower, the protea, Table Mountain, and the springbok, our national animal. The graphics are printed onto our Heavy T-Shirt silhouette, cut from a 225gsm, 100% Southern African-sourced cotton single jersey textile in cream. The T-shirt fits oversized, but can be sized down.
‘Heritage Day’ can feel like a misnomer for a public holiday in a country of so many different heritages. As South Africans, we’ve seen the danger of attempting to homogenise “South African culture”, and our apartheid history has undoubtedly left lasting marks on the country’s social fabric. Since the dawn of our democracy in 1994, the true beauty of our multiculturalism has shone. Instead of condemnation, South Africans have embraced the celebration of each other’s heritages. This celebration of difference, rather than forcing sameness, has gotten us closer to unity. Yay Abe’s artwork represents South Africa at its best – our people, however different they are, dancing hand-in-hand in unity, collective joy and celebration of our beautiful country.
Each T-Shirt is handmade in the brand’s 28-year-old heritage manufacturing facility in Woodstock, Cape Town.
