(Pic by Harry Lock)
A collective of Durban creatives is putting a whole new spin
on “the eagle has landed!”
It’s the Bulwer Park Community Public Sculpture Project
which is building a large sculpture for Bulwer Park in Glenwood, for a planned
installation in mid-December 2015. It’s a Vulturine Fish Eagle, aka Palm Nut
Vulture, wings spread and soaring over seven metres high among the treetops in
this beautiful park which, following a major makeover by eThekwini city, is a popular
outdoor recreation space for locals. Adjacent to one of KZN’s top arts venues,
the KZNSA Gallery complex, this sculpture project celebrates partnerships that provide
artistically credible, interesting and informative public art.
The eagle is being constructed of very unique materials –
kindly provided by Oricol Environmental Services (Pty) Ltd, a Durban-based
company that has been awarded a contract by the National Regulator for
Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) based on their ability to meet the contract
specifications and offer safe destruction of non-compliant goods through
environmentally-friendly waste management methods, ensuring maximum recycling
and diversion from landfill of the products.
It is important to ensure that non-compliant goods are
properly and safely destructed to ensure that they can never re-enter the
market. These goods are consumer items that enter the South African market as
defective and undesirable for responsible consumers - everything from electric
plugs that don’t fit sockets to water safety vests that don’t float.
A bunch of talented Durban artists have snapped up the
unique opportunity to repurpose these objects to make beautiful and meaningful
art.
Recycling and upcycling is a sustainable alternative to
using traditional sculpture materials. Leading the charge towards making art
from the byproducts of discarded consumer avarice is Umcebo Design, one of the
National Arts Council’s beneficiaries.
Robin Opperman, Ujala
Sewpersad and a group of local crafters, working from their studio over the
road from Bulwer Park, will construct the eagle sculpture. Working with
sculptor George Halloway, the eagle will be constructed of galvanised steel
round bar and non-compliant goods that have been withdrawn from the market. By
choosing to depict the Vulturine Fish Eagle, the project engages with the
issues and challenges surrounding the conservation of the South African natural
environment, specifically our endangered species.
The Vulturine Fish Eagle is found in the forests and
savannah areas of Sub Saharan Africa, usually near water, and specifically in
areas where the date palm can be found. While it is a bird of prey, its diet
consists mainly of the fruit of the oil palm, but it also eats crabs, molluscs,
locusts and fish. Many of these birds can be found in commercial palm
plantations. It is found mostly on the coast between Mtunzini and Mozambique in
KwaZulu-Natal and is considered a rare bird in South Africa but not under any
immediate threat.
The decision for the sculpture to depict the eagle is
motivated by the need to bring to public attention species other than the “Big
Five”, firstly because the Big Five are largely absent from Southern
KwaZulu-Natal and secondly because the KZN district of Uthungulu is nationally
and internationally synonymous with eco-tourism and in particular, birding. Not
only is the bird of significance to the ecology of KZN, but the Illala palm,
its natural habitat, has many important uses within indigenous isiZulu culture
and technology, the most widespread being basket weaving.
Headed by Project Director Bren Brophy, the project team
includes lead designers Robin Opperman, Ujala Sewpersad; lead sculptor George
Halloway, assisted by Earnest Ngcobo; crafters Samuel & Barbara Gwezwa,
Shannon Moffett, Beverly Burne and Kelly Lemans. Networking and research is
undertaken by Shannon Moffett and Sheryl Msomi. The structural engineer is Rob
Young and photography is Harry by Lock.
Special thanks to Lindsay Wayman, Sustainable Development
and Communication Officer, Oricol Environmental Services (Pty) Ltd.
Released on behalf of the National Arts Council by Total
Exposure. Call Bruce Dennill or Thuso Sekhaolelo for more details on 011 788-8725
or visit www.facebook.com/bulwerparksculpture;
www.umcebodesign.co.za or robin@umcebodesign.co.za
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