The work was commissioned by the Sunday Times as part of its Centenary Heritage project undertaken in partnership with the South African History Archive (SAHA).
The building immediately to the west of the artwork was the infamous John Vorster police station now known as the Johannesburg Central Police Station. Between 1971 and 1990, seven people died at John Vorster Square police station while being held indefinitely under apartheid’s detention laws. An eighth man died in hospital a week after being interrogated by the security branch on the infamous tenth floor.
The lift only went to the ninth floor and political prisoners were walked up a final flight of stairs to reach the tenth. An undetermined number of detainees were tortured. The station was named after Prime Minister BJ Vorster. In September 1997, John Vorster Square was renamed to Johannesburg Central Police Station.
The work was conceptualised, designed and fabricated by Kagiso Pat Mautloa. The title Simakade means ‘forever standing’ in Zulu – and references the resilience of detainees who were tortured and / or died at the adjacent John Vorster Square Police station and holding cells during the height of state repression in the 1970s and 80s.
The image of the chained and lacerated rock stands as a powerful symbol of fortitude in the face of the brutality that was once a commonplace event in the adjacent building.
The work was commissioned by the Sunday Times as part of its Centenary Heritage project undertaken in partnership with the South African History Archive (SAHA).
The building immediately to the west of the artwork was the infamous John Vorster police station now known as the Johannesburg Central Police Station. Between 1971 and 1990, seven people died at John Vorster Square police station while being held indefinitely under apartheid’s detention laws. An eighth man died in hospital a week after being interrogated by the security branch on the infamous tenth floor.
The lift only went to the ninth floor and political prisoners were walked up a final flight of stairs to reach the tenth. An undetermined number of detainees were tortured. The station was named after Prime Minister BJ Vorster. In September 1997, John Vorster Square was renamed to Johannesburg Central Police Station.
A culmination of research gathered over many years, the Online Johannesburg Heritage Register is being launched on Nelson Mandela Day 18 July 2025.
Among the many heritage sites featured is Chancellor House, the downtown offices of Mandela and Tambo Attorneys in the 1950s. After having been vacant and shuttered for more than a decade, this iconic building is being revived and brought to life once again as offices for the Community Development Department, which oversees the City’s Arts, Culture & Heritage Services.
