In 1955, an anti-apartheid gathering referred to as the Congress of the People called a meeting in Kliptown to discuss and ratify the Freedom Charter, compiled from thousands of submissions from across the country.
The new Walter Sisulu Square was opened in 2005, on the 50th anniversary of the meeting, and consists of two squares, each 100 metres by 100 metres in size, made of nine smaller squares, with large crosses inside them, representing the votes cast in the first democratic election in 1994.
The columns were built as part of the original plan for the square, when construction started in 2003. The sculptures were put in place towards the end of 2008.
In constructing the art, the artist used stone for two reasons. Firstly it is a reference to the word ‘stone’ (klip) in the word ‘Kliptown’; secondly, [it is] a symbol of the manner in which the Freedom Charter was adopted - through the coming together of hundreds of people and hundreds of pieces of paper to form a set of living values that would be equal and open to all.
Situated at the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication, the public art comprises 10 slate, concrete and steel sculptures representing each of the 10 Freedom Charter clauses, with each sculpture standing atop its own column.
One clause of the Freedom Charter refers to the doors of learning being open to all; this is represented by a young girl sitting and reading a book. Another sculpture is of a woman with a briefcase, representing work and security. A figure in a wheelchair refers to the clause on equal rights. A woman holding a child symbolises the clause relating to houses, security and comfort. Two men shaking hands represents the clause describing peace and friendship. Another sculpture shows two men holding a mealie, sharing in the country’s wealth.
Each sculpture weighs between 600 kg and 1t tonne. Because of the height of the columns - some seven metres - Seejarmi concentrated on the form of the figures instead of the detail of the body. As a result there is not much detail on the faces; they are very generalised and don’t look like anyone specifically.
Seejarin says it was a challenge to create a human form using slate - the figures were created by using horizontal layers of stone instead of a solid piece of stone. “Individually, each cut piece of stone is just a shape, but put together, in the right configuration, they create a human form.”
In 1955, an anti-apartheid gathering referred to as the Congress of the People called a meeting in Kliptown to discuss and ratify the Freedom Charter, compiled from thousands of submissions from across the country.
The new Walter Sisulu Square was opened in 2005, on the 50th anniversary of the meeting, and consists of two squares, each 100 metres by 100 metres in size, made of nine smaller squares, with large crosses inside them, representing the votes cast in the first democratic election in 1994.
The columns were built as part of the original plan for the square, when construction started in 2003. The sculptures were put in place towards the end of 2008.
In constructing the art, the artist used stone for two reasons. Firstly it is a reference to the word ‘stone’ (klip) in the word ‘Kliptown’; secondly, [it is] a symbol of the manner in which the Freedom Charter was adopted - through the coming together of hundreds of people and hundreds of pieces of paper to form a set of living values that would be equal and open to all.
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