A one-of-a-kind BMW 7-Series has received some incredible Ndebele artwork on its interior panels. The artist? A South African by the name of Esther Mahlangu.

BMW Individual Manufakturmade a special white-coloured fine-wood trim which would serve as Esther’s canvas before sealing them to ensure their longevity and installing them in the vehicle. The one-of-a-kind BMW 740Li will be shown to the public for the first time at theFrieze Art Fair (5- 9 October 2016) in Regent’sPark, London and willbe up for auction. Proceeds from the sale of the vehicle will be donated to charity.

Esther Mahlangu was born 1935 in Middelburg,Mpumalanga. At the age of 10, she began to paint under the guidance of both her mother and grandmother. Typical Ndebele ladies paintexterior walls of houses with elaborately painted patterns and graphic elements, symbolising important events such as weddings or other celebrations, thus the walls are used as active communicative media within the community.

“To paint is in my heart and it's in my blood. The way I paint was taught to me by my mother and my grandmother." she said. "The images and colours have changed and I have painted on many different surfaces and objects but I still love to paint. The patterns I have used on the BMW parts marry tradition to the essence of BMW. When BMW sent me the panels to paint, I could see the design in my head and I just wanted to get started!

"I start by painting the small ones first to get the feel of the surface and then it was easy as the design follows the lines of the panels.My art has taken me all over the world and I have seen many places, I have painted many walls and objects and my work is in many museums but I am still Esther Mahlangu from Mpumalanga in South Africa. My heart was full of joy when BMW asked me again to paint for them," added Mahlangu.

This is not Esther Mahlangu's first encounter with a BMW vehicle. Back in 1991 she painted the exterior of a BMW Art Car, the BMW 525i (pictured below).

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