AAW! gives good moments of bliss. We love making work that lasts for a moment to a few months."
15m high in Johannesburg stood on Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, Jhb Inner City from June to August 2010/ A little higher than the top of the double-decker flyover. Joburg Cratefan is named Oupa after the main guy on the scaffold team.
Just over 16.5m high in Cape Town, sitting – so he’s big. Named Elliot, also after the main man. He is still up and might stay that way until end October 2011 – currently in discussion.
The show put the spotlight across all disciplines of the arts in public space – from performative and temporary installations to landmark city sculptures – spanning many countries and significantly including works South Africa, elsewhere in Africa, Europe, South America and the USA.
The launch programme for the show included the exhibition in Sandton Central and a small-screen projection programme featuring video documentation of works managed by AAW Art Project Management and a premiere of Hobbs/Neustetter's Entracte, a projection-work in Dakar, Senegal.
Late last year, in response to the furore around freedom of expression, national security and the media tribunal mooted by South Africa's ruling party, poet Phillippa Yaa de Villiers and Les Perkes of AAW! prepared a statement that was installed on the orange trees between Eastgate and Ellis Park in downtown Joburg (wrapping the trees was part of the land-art project AAW! did with artist Strijdom van der Merwe for the World Cup 2010).
The South African National Editors Forum assisted AAW! to find a printer who would print the statement - one word per tree - and Media24 came to that party, for which we are forever grateful. Of course, the posters (on thin newsprint) were installed on the windiest day in South African living memory ... okay it's an exaggeration but it was a bit windy ... and so the Tree Tribunal lasted in its entirety for about 3 hours, instead of the hoped-for 3 days. Such is life. But the way things work, here it the statement, online forever maybe:
You can say what you like
But don’t ask difficult questions
Like where’s my money?
Why do they want to keep secrets?
They must have something to hide
How do you hide luxury?
Sit on it maybe
Throw a blanket
a security blanket
A lie
Listen to clever people
Spread the beautiful word
Read the trees smell the roses
After a go-ahead from Gauteng Provincial Government at the end of April 2010, residents and tourists in Joburg, SA were treated to a growing surprise. A team of students, labourers and AAW, under the direction of land-artist Strijdom van der Merwe, (www.strijdom.co.za) installed 20 000 bright yellow hands on the Gillooly's interchange (busiest traffic intersection on the continent) and wrapped hundreds of trees in bright orange dayglo fabric between OR Tambo International Airport and Ellis Park.
A response to the When Life Happens Festival in Newtown. Upside down umbrellas filled with the elements, positive decay, living with HIV/Aids. Of course it poured with rain but the artist and the arts managers survived albeit the atmosphere was wild, wet and windy. Yum.
Wrapping up cities - The Cell C For The City Art-Branding Project in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. These images are from the Joburg project which saw over 30 buildings round the city wrapped up with art.
