Brenda Fassie was one of Africa's biggest home-grown stars, South Africa's top-selling local artist and what her record company EMI called "a once-in-a-generation artist, a true idol".
Born in Langa, Cape Town, she started singing with a neighbourhood band called The Tiny Tots at age 5. At 17, producer and talent scout Koloi Lebona brought her to Joburg where she went to Gibson Kente's music and drama school in Soweto.
Singing with the band Brenda & The Big Dudes, she cut her first single Weekend Special and became an overnight sensation.
The pop diva enjoyed musical success with many of her albums being top selling albums in South Africa. Known as the ‘Madonna of the Townships’ and adored by the South African public, Fassie was one of the most successful — and sometimes one of the most controversial — performer that South Africa has produced
The Brenda Fassie Memorial was conceptualised and fabricated by the sculptor Angus Taylor. The work was commissioned by the Sunday Times as part of its Centenary Heritage project. Art at Work acted as commissioning agent and project manager. The project marked the 100th anniversary of the newspaper, and involved commissioning artworks linked to major figures or events that shaped the news during the course of the newspaper’s history. The Brenda Fassie Memorial was the first artwork to be launched to the public as part of the overall project.
In 2019 a public consultation process took place to relocate the sculpture to a more visited location (it had been located outside Newtown’s Bassline). The Market Theatre Foundation agreed to be the informal ‘carers’ of the sculpture and area and Brenda Fassie now sits outside Market Theatre in the pedestrian walkway.
The sculpture shows a finely rendered Fassie perched on a performer's stool in a state of repose. Next to her is a second empty stool and a microphone positioned to be shared, suggesting an invitation to passers-by to join her in a performance.
The bronze sculpture is a 1.5m life-size bronze sculpture. The work was cast in bronze through a series of mouldings in clay and silicone. The final work involved a variety of alterations to the original mould and was installed outside the Bassline music venue, to the south of Mary Fitzgerald Square in March 2006.
The piece is mounted on a bronze stage, 0.35m in height with a 0.2m step up. Fassie’s flesh is inscribed with various statements made by her directed at or about the media, a play on the idea of her being a creation of the popular media as someone who both resisted and revelled in the attention given to her by the press.
The sculpture is supported by a black plaque with white text contextualising the artwork, including the Sunday Times, City of Johannesburg and BASA logos.
Brenda Fassie was one of Africa's biggest home-grown stars, South Africa's top-selling local artist and what her record company EMI called "a once-in-a-generation artist, a true idol".
Born in Langa, Cape Town, she started singing with a neighbourhood band called The Tiny Tots at age 5. At 17, producer and talent scout Koloi Lebona brought her to Joburg where she went to Gibson Kente's music and drama school in Soweto.
Singing with the band Brenda & The Big Dudes, she cut her first single Weekend Special and became an overnight sensation.
The pop diva enjoyed musical success with many of her albums being top selling albums in South Africa. Known as the ‘Madonna of the Townships’ and adored by the South African public, Fassie was one of the most successful — and sometimes one of the most controversial — performer that South Africa has produced
The Brenda Fassie Memorial was conceptualised and fabricated by the sculptor Angus Taylor. The work was commissioned by the Sunday Times as part of its Centenary Heritage project. Art at Work acted as commissioning agent and project manager. The project marked the 100th anniversary of the newspaper, and involved commissioning artworks linked to major figures or events that shaped the news during the course of the newspaper’s history. The Brenda Fassie Memorial was the first artwork to be launched to the public as part of the overall project.
In 2019 a public consultation process took place to relocate the sculpture to a more visited location (it had been located outside Newtown’s Bassline). The Market Theatre Foundation agreed to be the informal ‘carers’ of the sculpture and area and Brenda Fassie now sits outside Market Theatre in the pedestrian walkway.
2024 © City Of Johannesburg — Arts, Culture & Heritage
