HALF ART
CHRIS THURMAN: Pockets of wildness in Joburg’s sprawl inspires artist’s towering work
When I asked my children if they wanted to come with me to see a new sculpture at the Firestation in Rosebank, I was hoping the trip would be a boon to them. My eight-year-old daughter is a budding artist who naively thinks her dad’s part-time job as an arts writer is quite glamorous. And my son, like any four-year-old, is enthused by sirens and fire engines and firefighters sliding down a pole. We were 50% successful – which, as any parent can confirm, is about the best one can hope for in a family excursion. There were no sirens, no fire engines, no firefighters, no poles; at first glance, all that remains of the old fire station in Rosebank, Johannesburg are the big wooden doors of the front facade. Instead, there is the Firestation at 16 Baker Street: one of many new property developments in the area meeting the need for high-rise office space. We did, however, find the statue. Standing in the building’s foyer is Samantha, a 3m-high installation by Hannelie Coetzee constructed o...
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