In a powerful act of solidarity and resistance, Nelson Mandela University hosted Echoes of Silence, an art installation by final-year visual arts (sculpture) student Charné Mungur.
The reflective event, held on Friday, and in honour of the G20 Women’s Shutdown, invited the public to stand in solidarity with victims and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) in SA.
Mungur was inspired by the many victims of sexual assault, including the case of Andy Kawa, who was attacked and raped multiple times among the sand dunes at Kings Beach in December 2010.
Kawa fought her case in court for nearly 15 years and eventually won.
“Andy’s story quite literally broke me.
“I was so moved and inspired to do this project.
“She spent exactly 5,271 days fighting.
“Numbers are so important to me, to illustrate just how deep the problem is.
“I have chosen to use steel, based on its association with strength and resilience, as this perfectly highlights the fighting spirit of the women who continue to survive and exist regardless of the echoes of silence,” Mungur said.
The installation is composed of 2,150,342 intentionally made grinder marks on more than 400 rods, each representing a woman who has experienced sexual violence in SA.
It took Mungur about four months to complete the project.
The high number is based on the 2024 report by the Human Science Research Council on GBV within SA, which showcased the number of women who were sexually assaulted at the time.
The design mirrors statistical graphs, and the unfinished bases represent the many cases that go unreported. As light shines on the work, the shadows make the numbers feel even heavier, showing just how widespread GBV is.
The strict grid layout highlights the failure of the systems that are supposed to protect victims.
“My intention with this installation is to break the silence around GBV and encourage dialogue and action.
“Every mark says, ‘you are seen, and you are heard’. This makes the piece a space where trauma is not hidden but given form, where collective scars are transformed into visible testimony,” Mungur said.
As GBV continues to escalate in SA, she issued a sobering reminder that the fight against this crisis was far from over.
“Declaring GBV and femicide a national disaster is long overdue in this country.
“GBV does not discriminate; instead, it cuts across age, race, class, and culture.
“All women live in the shadow of this reality.
“It is not intended to speak for victims, but created by women for women, and aims to amplify their presence, voices and truths,” Mungur said.
The Herald
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