The Museum of Flight is currently exhibiting The MiG-21 Project, an installation featuring a full-sized Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 aircraft entirely covered with tens of millions of glass beads. The display, which runs through January 26, 2026, showcases the work of South African artist Ralph Ziman and a team of artisans from South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Ziman designed the patterns that cover the aircraft, but the actual beading was completed by artisans including Thenjiwe Pretty Nkogatsi. Nkogatsi emphasized the cultural significance of beadwork in Africa: “There is no Africa without beads,” she said. “It connects. If you go deep with Africa, you find it’s the one thing. So that’s why you see it all over.”
Beads have played a role in southern African culture for centuries, used in clothing, accessories, and art. Over time, especially during colonialism and Apartheid, beadwork became not only a cultural tradition but also a symbol of resistance and identity for indigenous Africans.
Nkogatsi learned beading as a child from her mother and grandmother in the Ndebele tradition, where women are stewards of the craft. She recalled how her mother sold beadwork on the floor to quickly escape police enforcement during Apartheid when Black businesses faced strict regulation and limited permits.
Colorful beadwork and painted house patterns have long been important forms of expression for the Ndebele people. These visual traditions signified solidarity during periods of oppression under Dutch colonization.
Nkogatsi now leads Annointed Hands, a collective dedicated to beadwork. Her projects include both The MiG-21 Project and previous collaborations with Ziman such as The Casspir Project. She has also worked with companies like Nike and designer David Tlale while continuing to sell beadwork locally.
Other artisans involved in The MiG-21 Project came to their craft through different paths. Kennedy Mwashusha moved from Zimbabwe to South Africa in the late 1980s and turned to wire-and-bead sculpture as a means of livelihood. “To me, it was like an avenue whereby I had to survive,” he said. “I decided, if they can do it, why can’t I do it? And then I joined in.”
Bowasi “Boas” Manzvenga began making model cars out of beads and wire as a child in Zimbabwe before expanding into larger sculptures and public art installations in Johannesburg. He noted that creating toys led him into broader artistic endeavors: “We’ve been doing this when we were very young,” he said.
Wire-and-bead creations are common children’s toys in South Africa but have evolved into large-scale artworks such as life-sized animals or public sculptures.
The process for The MiG-21 Project involved creating wire frames that matched the jet’s shape; these were shipped between Los Angeles and Africa so artisans could apply beads before returning them for final assembly on the plane at The Museum of Flight.
Ziman described his intention for transforming an object built for war into something meant for healing. Nkogatsi reflected on her own role: “I used to tell myself, ‘I want to be a doctor,’” she said. “But I found out that even right now I am doing this. Although it’s not medical, but I’m healing people.”
The MiG-21 Project remains on display at The Museum of Flight until January 26, 2026.
