The series of 18 life-sized sculptures on the Sea Point Promenade is complete again, after one was stolen and another vandalised.
The public art installation, entitled Walking the Road and exploring variations on the theme “The girl who wants to fly like a dragonfly”, has become a fixture on the promenade since it was placed there in June 2010.
However, the concrete artworks have fallen victim to vandals on numerous occasions, with one recently being pushed over, another having a foot damaged, and another being stolen by students.
Grabouw artist Marieke Prinsloo-Rowe replaced the missing sculptures – the first and last ones – and repaired the others, at her own cost.
In terms of her agreement with the City of Cape Town, the artwork was viewed as a donation and she is responsible for the maintenance of the artworks for the two-year period for which they will be displayed.
City officials studied CCTV footage from the promenade area, but have been unable to identify any vandals.
Ward councillor Beverley Schäfer said it was disappointing that the artworks had been vandalised. “I’ve only had about two complaints about them. People love those sculptures, they take pictures of them or with them, they are iconic.”
She added that she will be sad when they are removed at the end of the agreement with the artist, and they will need to be replaced, and she hopes to have more public art in her ward.
Prinsloo Rowe said she is debating whether it’s worth keeping the sculptures there for the full two-year agreed-upon period, due to the time and cost of the upkeep.
“I went back to replace the re-cast sculptures, and also mended them from a forklift. They are like children to me. But they were never intended to be permanent and have not been designed for that, unlike the white horses, which are bronze.
The exhibition formed part of her master’s degree, which she has now completed.
“It has been a phenomenal opportunity and the input has been fantastic. I’ve had over 300 emails from people all over the world saying they enjoyed the sculptures, so that’s given lots of insight into how people assimilate public art.
“One theme running though the responses is how children enjoyed and interacted with them. There has of course been some negativity and criticism, but that’s to be expected.”
After the sculptures are removed, Prinsloo Rowe said she’d like the Promenade to be an outdoor exhibition space, with curated exhibitions.
But she’ll also have to work out what to do with the 18 sculptures. “I guess I’ll have a full garden,” she joked.
