logo
A South African artist hopes vibrant sculptures make parks more welcoming in a city known for danger

A South African artist hopes vibrant sculptures make parks more welcoming in a city known for danger

Independent10-03-2025

James Delaney wants his public art in South Africa's biggest city to be more than a magnet for selfies and a delight for children. He's determined to have the vibrant metal sculptures change the mood of its gritty and sometimes dangerous neighborhoods.
Over the past decade, Delaney has designed more than 100 sculptures for The Wilds Park in Johannesburg. A striking red steel kudu antelope stands near a hill's summit. A curious assembly of stencil owls peer down from jacaranda trees. A life-size pink giraffe installation dominates a grassy clearing.
'Artworks can bring a sense of life to public spaces,' said Delaney, a 53-year-old sculptor and painter who has exhibited his work in London Paris and New York.
'And public spaces need lots of people to be functional and to be safe.'
Authorities in Johannesburg have encouraged public art to improve safety and environmental conditions in the city of some 6 million people whose downtown has a reputation for crime and degradation. Johannesburg is considered one of the world's most dangerous cities, based on crime data.
Much of Johannesburg's street art and public works reflect South Africa's former life under the white minority rule of apartheid and the efforts at reconciliation after that divisive system ended.
Delaney's work strives to do something simpler for residents in a city where dirty, uninviting sidewalks and safety concerns make it rare for the average person to take a stroll.
'One can create a public space which is grass and trees and it's OK and nice. But one has to do more than that to really attract people and to capture their imagination," Delaney said.
The Wilds is in the midst of Johannesburg's contrasts.
One side of the park is bordered by the tree-lined Killarney suburb and affluent Houghton, home to Nelson Mandela during the final years of his presidency as the country's first Black leader. The other side borders a transition into the bustling, sometimes broken-down areas of Berea and Yeoville.
Lydia Ndhlovu, a 38-year-old mother, watched her children play on the jungle gym, a break from their apartment with no yard.
'I don't feel safe being alone here with them, but I like seeing the elderly people enjoying the park from my window, because then I know we can be free and also come,' she said.
Some residents say Johannesburg's reputation for crime is unfair.
'Quite often the narrative in the city of Johannesburg is all parks are unsafe,' said Jenny Moodley, a spokeswoman for Johannesburg City Parks, which maintains 22 nature reserves, 15 bird sanctuaries and more than 2,000 public parks.
'Many of these open spaces are safe, little children play unsupervised, and we know elements such as art reinforce that this is a vibrant space to play, to come together with your families and friends and to also express yourself,' Moodley said.
Delaney first encountered The Wilds as an overgrown, deserted park while walking his puppy Pablo — named after Picasso — in 2014. Since then, he has repaired and painted benches, pruned plants and attracted volunteers and donors to help turn it into a buzzing meeting point.
The special ingredient might be the sculptures that now draw moms with babies, yoga enthusiasts and schoolchildren from nearby apartment blocks.
Delaney last week unveiled a second urban park regeneration in Killarney, where a 3-meter-high (9.8-foot) bright orange gate features a sculpture of a raptor perched on a native aloe plant, encouraging passers-by to enter and explore.
Anna Starcke, an 88-year-old former political analyst and journalist, is one of Killarney's oldest residents, though her pink lipstick and green sunglasses strike a more contemporary tone. To her, the art in the parks speaks of inclusion. One of the delights of her day is chatting with other visitors.
'It's very important that people get the feeling that it's theirs because that is the big thing, that Black people (during apartheid) never felt it's theirs,' she said. 'If we can get a majority of people to care about their parks, art in their parks, and being together in their parks, sitting on the same bench, then we have won."
___

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Netflix fans left 'ugly crying' by 'absolutely heartbreaking' thriller so intense they 'had to take a break' halfway through
Netflix fans left 'ugly crying' by 'absolutely heartbreaking' thriller so intense they 'had to take a break' halfway through

Daily Mail​

time5 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Netflix fans left 'ugly crying' by 'absolutely heartbreaking' thriller so intense they 'had to take a break' halfway through

A Netflix tear-jerker has left fans so emotional they had to pause the film to regain their composure. 'Movies don't make you cry like this these days,' wrote one viewer online, after watching brand new heart-tugging Netflix film, 'Straw'. From the mind of Tyler Perry (writer, producer and director), Straw sends viewers spiralling through a tempestuous day in the life of 'Janiyah' (Taraji P. Henson) as she faces adversity and struggles to make ends meet for her unwell young daughter. The cerebral tale has been praised for its unexpected twist ending, and exploration of prejudice in the healthcare and banking systems, as well its call for discussion around mental health in Black communities. 'She's just trying to survive, just trying to be a great mother to her daughter, and then the circumstances in her life cause her to be in this situation,' Perry told Netflix's Tudum. 'I think that a lot of people around the world, no matter if you're a Black woman or not, will be able to relate to that feeling of, 'I'm at my last straw.'' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. After being released on June 6, Straw has rapidly ascended the Netflix charts, now hitting no.1 movie in the UK, and audiences online are bubbling over with emotion at the psychological thriller. 'I just finished watching #StrawNetflix I cried, crode and I crewwweedddd. Taraji's pain and trauma were just too much...' 'The way Straw raises awareness on psychosis , and the different stages of grief! Beautifully done! #StrawNetflix' 'Taraji P. Henson is one of THE BEST actresses ever. #StrawNetflix was simply incredible and she deserves an Oscar. 'The emotion I felt watching this was insane. I cried from start to finish. Single moms. We are incredibly strong.' 'This is a tear jerker. The ugly cry I did is unmatched.' 'I give this a 9/10. This movie triggers you emotionally in the most least expected way. Prepare to cry.' Straw marks Henson and Perry's fourth collaboration in the cinema world, having previously worked together on Acrimony, I Can Do Bad All by Myself, and The Family That Preys. In Straw, Henson is joined by a stellar cast, featuring Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor and Jingle All the Way star Sinbad, in his first role since suffering a stroke in 2020. Despite an emotive response on social media, some film reviewers were critical, suggesting that Taraji P. Henson's tear-jerking performance elevated the film, whilst the writing and plot were subpar, and unsurprising from Perry. Though critics reviews were mixed, the film received a 76% audience review on Rotten Tomatoes. Henson expressed in an interview with Extra that she anticipated a stirring response from audiences. 'You never know what cross someone is carrying,' she noted, explaining that she hoped the film would invoke an impetus to show kindness towards strangers in the audience.

REVIEW: Martin Luther King drama hits the heights, and a technical low
REVIEW: Martin Luther King drama hits the heights, and a technical low

The National

timea day ago

  • The National

REVIEW: Martin Luther King drama hits the heights, and a technical low

King calls room service and requests a coffee. A young maid by the name of Camae arrives with his beverage. So begins American dramatist Katori Hall's Olivier Award-winning 2009 play The Mountaintop. If you are – as I am in writing reviews – averse to spoilers, Hall's drama is a tricky proposition. It is necessary, yet possibly saying too much, to reveal that the fictional figure of Camae is not what she seems. The maid is Black, working class, clever, fast talking, flirtatious, irreverent, yet very much in respectful awe of King. As such, this ­multifaceted character is a brilliant foil to Hall's imagined MLK. King himself emerges – in Hall's ­characterisation – as a complex combination of traits inspired by both his public persona and what we know of his private biography. ­Inevitably – given the ever-present threats against his life – he is afraid for his person. His conversation with Camae explores the tussle between fear, on the one side, and ­determination, faith and a sense of purpose, on the other. Camae's respect for King does not prevent her from invoking Black radicals such as Malcolm X and the Black Panthers, and from airing opinions on the struggle for racial ­justice that are at odds with MLK's insistence on non-violent resistance. READ MORE: 'Joy, celebration and warmth' of Palestinian art to be showcased at Edinburgh Fringe In one particularly memorable scene, she even imagines a new, radically Black ­nationalist ­rhetoric for King. Yet the dialogue between the pair is so deftly wrought, so believable in its humour, affection and growing familiarity that its political dimension never comes close to ­polemic. The characters' interactions reflect to a ­considerable degree MLK's well-established 'weakness' where his extra-marital relations with women were concerned. In this, and in other – by turns delightful and anguished – ­aspects, the play's broad humanism is inflected with feminism. Caleb Roberts (MLK) and Shannon Hayes (Camae) create a powerful and transfixing ­theatrical duet as they perform on set ­designer Hyemi Shin's impressive set (a vertiginous ­rendering of King's motel room). Caleb Roberts Although contrasting in so many ways, the ­actors generate characters who are in equal measure charismatic and vulnerable, all the better for Camae to guide King through a dark night of the soul and up to the titular mountaintop. Indeed, so spellbinding are the actors that one cannot help but feel disappointed by the ­needless distraction – in what should have been a shuddering denouement – of very ­visible ­stagehands invading the stage in the crucial ­final scene. This misjudgement on the part of acclaimed director Rikki Henry seriously undermines an otherwise sure-footed staging. The director exhibits a misplaced loyalty to a visual metaphor for which he and his team have been unable to find a satisfactory technical ­solution. Which is a great shame as, otherwise, this production does excellent justice to Hall's celebrated drama. Until June 21:

Miss Myrtle's Garden
Miss Myrtle's Garden

Time Out

time2 days ago

  • Time Out

Miss Myrtle's Garden

There's something relatable – and deeply funny – about a grandmother demanding to be brought potatoes and mixed spice, then grinning at her own audacity. That warmth and wit is central to Danny James King's Miss Myrtle's Garden, a tender play in which every cast member is as magnetic as the other. The story does indeed unfold in the overgrown Peckham garden of Miss Myrtle (Diveen Henry) – a space dense with ghosts and flowers. Into this tangled setting steps her grandson Rudy (Michael Ahomka-Lindsay), who has just moved in with his (secret) boyfriend Jason (Elander Moore). Rudy, wary of his sharp-tongued Jamaican grandmother and constrained by his job at a Catholic school, isn't ready to come out, placing strain on them both. Moore's Jason is vibrant and warm; Ahomka-Lindsay captures Rudy's internal battle with a mounting heartbreak. Meanwhile,Henry's comic timing is electric, and her facial expressions alone tell stories that stretch across decades. Myrtle is also slipping into dementia – a disease that disproportionately affects Black and South Asian communities. Her beloved cat, Sarah, is missing. She spends her days bickering with Eddie, her kind but slightly oafish Irish neighbour (a charming Gary Lilburn), whom she first catches urinating near her flowerbeds. What begins as comedy softens into a portrait of two lonely people reaching – awkwardly – for connection. The actors orbit each other with care, often lingering in meaningful silences or glances. New Bush boss Taio Lawson's direction is intimate and dynamic, making smart use of the in-the-round staging. Khadija Raza's set is rich with detail – real soil, real flowers, and an ever-shifting wardrobe – while Joshua Gadsby's lighting brings a gentle rhythm: golden daybreaks, blackout nights, and the murky emotional in-betweens. After the interval, the balance between realism and symbolism sharpens. And while the pacing occasionally meanders, the play always manages to draw you back in. What Miss Myrtle's Garden gets so right is the way it creeps up on you: one moment you're laughing, the next you're holding back tears. It's a play about the past, about what's left unsaid, and the quiet ache to be seen.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store