Terri Dunbar-Curran
ARTIST Haroon Gunn-Salie’s years spent with the Human Rights Media Centre instilled in him an understanding of the importance of oral history – this aspect has been evident in much of his artwork since. He has come to appreciate the importance of young people carrying on with memory work.
“There’s a tendency to forget,” he explains. “My goal is to work against that tendency. And while people are obsessed with a globalised world, I beg for the opposite.” With that in mind, many of his projects have seen him collaborate with other artists and examine issues that continue to affect South Africans. Some of his projects have seen him work closely with former District Six residents, listening to their stories.
“The whole point is to use art as a way to not only open up wounds, but to find catharsis in it,” he says, adding that once he’d heard someone’s story he’d ask them to consider what icons they’d use to illustrate their experiences, and from there his artwork would take shape. “Working in a dialogue-based way has helped me realise how important this work is.”
The Joburg-based artist’s latest work, a sculptural installation, Kom Oor Die See, will be unveiled on Sea Point promenade on Heritage Day September 24 and will form part of Art 54. The project was named after Ward 54, which stretches from Bantry Bay to Camps Bay, and it was initiated by ward councillor Beverley Schäfer and street art collector Elad Kirshenbaum.
Gunn-Salie says that Art 54 engages with the fact that Cape Town doesn’t really have a public arts policy in place.
“I’ve always been fascinated with the Sea Point promenade area. One of my earliest memories was going there at the end of Ramadaan to spot the moon. And that was a starting point for me in thinking about the work I proposed.” He also began to explore the site’s struggle connections, and the fact that many people came here in chains, and others through the ports in search of a better life. “I suppose it seemed like a fertile ground to respond to,” he says, adding that the sculpture’s title is a line from Daar Kom die Alibama.
Gunn-Salie wants viewers to engage with the work, and so the sculpture, which will be mounted on the concrete barrier, has been given a mirror finish. “Viewers will see themselves within the letter cut outs as they look out over the ocean and Robben Island,” he says. “We’re in the time of the selfie and this is a way to engage with people, to show their reflection back to them.”
“It’s a very direct work, I hope people will see themselves in, and resonate with the work’s intention.”
From conception to installation, the only adjusting which had to be done concerned materials. “It needed to be safe, and able to withstand the elements – it could have waves crashing up against it.” So he opted to use a metal composite that’s not actually metal. “And it’s valueless, in terms of scrap. It won’t be seen as a work that’s easy to steal or vandalise.”
Working on similar public artwork projects in Joburg has proved invaluable, he has learnt to create pieces on a limited budget that will last a few years and will work in their environments.
As a graffiti artist at university, he found himself frustrated that courses weren’t geared towards collaborative practice. “There also wasn’t leeway for public works of art. Art was made for galleries, not the for the public or for social or political reasons, for no reasons other than just for sale. I found it limiting and quite soul destroying.”
So when he finished at university he took the plunge and says he hasn’t looked back. And while he ensures Capetonians still get to appreciate his work (he has pieces in various exhibitions around the city), he finds Joburg to be far more receptive to the kind of collaborative projects he most enjoys. “There are also maybe more opportunities and less of an air of competition.”
The next few months see his work featuring in 89plus, an international exhibition of work by artists born in 1989 or later, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Simon Castets. He will also take up a residency in Sao Paolo creating works for collectors in Brazil.
The plan is for Art 54 on the promenade to run for a year, but the hope is that interested parties will approve, and that works like Kom Oor Die See could find a more permanent home on the site.
l See www.art54.co.za for more.