On The Tiles: Mosaic Project

WORDS Jo Buitenbach

A guerrilla mosaic bombing project is bringing art to the streets of Cape Town.

There’s a certain magic to walking through a city and spotting something surprising – a tiny garden, a hidden door, a piece of art peeking around a corner. A new project initiated by House Union Block (HUB), the commercial arm of the Spier Arts Trust, is adding some of this kind of serendipity to the Mother City.

The project will see eight Cape Town-based artists work in collaboration with 15 artisans to create public artworks made from mosaic. These will be installed on the walls of various city locations by the artisans, who’ve all graduated from the Spier Arts Academy’s three-year mosaic-making course. Artists confirmed to take part are Kilmany-Jo Liversage, Robyn Pretorius, Adolf Tafadzwa Tega, Fanie Buys, Olivié Keck, Meshack “Shakes” Tembani, Xolile Mtakatya and Wonder Marthinus. The pieces will be no larger than 50cm x 50cm, and will interpret recurring motifs found in the artists’ work. These cover a range of topics, including identity, social inequality and the environment.

“Public art can be a sort of equaliser, an experience that all of us can access while walking on the street,” explains Mirna Wessels, CEO of the Spier Arts Trust, and HUB. “There is a body of research that shows that in places where there’s public art, there is a greater sense of community; businesses and constituents tend to pull together to make sure that the environment is safe.”

The initial phase of the project has been funded by a government grant, as well as by local businesses buying art pieces for their City Bowl premises. For the art to continue to be created and installed, and for an app to be developed that will encourage users to discover the works, the project team are canvassing financial support. “The idea is to sell the artworks to the landlords, or to the tenants with permission from the landlord as well as the City of Cape Town,” Mirna says. “The funds from the sales will then allow us to engage with more artists.”

The first three pieces were unveiled earlier this year, and include two works by Kilmany-Jo Liversage – a mosaic flower and lips. They’re located at the Union House Building, and above a 250-year-old vine at the Cape Heritage Hotel in Bree Street. The third, a mosaic of a bird by artist Robyn Pretorius, is on Shortmarket Street. Happy mosaic hunting!

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