Kentridge and a team from the Trinity Session, the company contracted to conceptualise and manage construction of Joburg’s new public art, had an on-site test for the statue on 23 April. A 10-ton crane was used to lift a canvas depicting the sculpture to determine its optimum position.
Trinity Session’s director, Stephen Hobbs, said production of the sculpture had already progressed. Its small model had been handed over to engineers for construction by April. “It will be the biggest sculpture in Johannesburg in terms of contemporary art made in the city after 1994,” said Hobbs. The sculpture will be placed on the end-tip of Queen Elizabeth Bridge opposite the Metro Mall, overlooking the Nelson Mandela Bridge and the Bree Street Taxi Rank. People driving or walking from the three sites will have a panoramic view of the artwork.
Kentridge, who was born and bred in Houghton, Johannesburg, said he was elated about this artwork. His work already features in galleries around the city – and the world - and the new sculpture will be his first set up for the general public. His work also features prominently in other countries. “It is quite exciting to do something in the city I have been living in for the past 54 years, since my birth.”
The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), which commissioned the artist, unveiled the artwork on 30 June. It has also overseen the installation of nine tree sculptures on Juta Street and the eland statue in Braamfontein.