AN ICONIC LANDMARK ON JOBURG’S LANDSCAPE
LIGHT STEAMS PAST THE CARVED TOTEM POLES IN THE COUNCIL
CHAMBER OF THE CITY OF JOBURG, REFLECTING DIFFERENT CULTURES AND HERITAGE IN
THE CITY’S REGIONS. AT NIGHT THE COUNCIL
CHAMBERS MAKES A STUNNING IMPRESSION
Totem poles were designed by residents of the City of
Joburg. The totem poles contain the
stories of residents of Joburg told in visual form through the carving. According to the speaker of the council Vasco
da Gama, the idea behind the totems was to be able to understand the many
cultures that make up the city without having a language barrier and to use art
as a medium to draw the varied age and culture groups together into one art
form – the totem pole.
The journey began with all city regions being advised and
given workshop material to enable them to communicate with their local people
and connect with them. Winners were
offered R5 000. When some winners
were notified, they did not believe they had won, and when it sank in, most
were happy to give up their winnings to those who needed it more, for example,
to set up animal shelters, give money to their mothers who had supported them
all their lives, study art and / or donate the money to arts centres in their
communities.
In order to represent all seven regions fairly, between 10
and 25 designs were selected per region.
The totems are 2m tall, 80cm wide and 200cm deep, so a graphic designer
was brought in to refashion them slightly to make them fit around the three
sides. Out of 570 entries, 134 were
accepted and processed into the wooden carvings that have pride of place in the
council chambers.
Each totem took 16 hours to design, create and carve in
brown kiaat timber before being put in place in the walkway. Each one is signed at the bottom with the
name of the artist. The circular glass
building has been constructed to strict environmental guidelines and represents
an African drum. Instead of the usual
ringing bell calling councillors to meetings, a drum roll is sounded throughout
the building.
