The Messenger

Marco Cianfanelli’s majestic The Messenger greets passing traffic and pedestrians from the southwest corner of the park. The sculpture – nearly six metres in height – was created from 12 identical laser-cut steel sections that were then welded together in a radial formation and bolted to the concrete plinth. The sculpture is designed so as to extend an equal greeting in all directions, and each out-stretched hand contains a distinct and emblematic figure of a different kind of Johannesburg resident – a clever encapsulation of the idea that the city belongs to all who live in it.

Artwork rationale: The figure is abstracted, yet still recognisable as a gesturing figure. The radial symmetry allows the sculpture to “greet” the public from any direction.