Joburg artist works hard at reclaiming public space

On October 17 two years ago a vicious crime shook Johannesburg - and Kensington, in particular.

The Rhodes Park murders left two men dead. The men and their wives were attacked while strolling through the park. They were robbed, stripped naked and thrown into the lake at gunpoint. They drowned. Their wives were raped by a gang of 12.

Today marks the anniversary of that brutal event of 2015, artist and Kensington local Gail Scott-Wilson created a collaborative land art event to "cleanse and commemorate", and for people to reclaim the park as a site for new, happier memories to be made.

"What happened affected all of us and since that day I've been thinking that we needed to find a way to remember the victims.

 "We also want people to come back to the park and make better use of it," says Scott-Wilson, who walks in the park and has lived in the suburb for the past nine years.

About 15 artists, including those from Jozi Land Art, came together for the The Land Never Forgets event on Sunday, October 15.

Park users, including bridal parties, picnickers, tennis players and dog walkers, watched and took part as artists created pieces from found objects or media that will eventually degrade.

Children were encouraged to make chalk drawings on sidewalks, another installation invited passersby to "sit here and just breathe" on a quilted blanket.

Land art is meant to be ephemeral, to last only as long as nature intends. Scott-Wilson says it mirrors the idea that healing can follow loss, even after 2015's brutal tragedy.

It's also the belief that nature and time hold the lessons for everything.

Some of the participating artists included Anni Snyman, Lew Rosenberg, Moira MacMurry, Chris Reinders and young artists and facilitators from the Boitumelo Project from Hillbrow.

They created mobiles of seeds, duck feathers and stones, angel wings from twig pegs, and covered benches and trees with messages on fabric banners.

The informal walking group, the Rhodes Park Walkers, who meet for weekly strolls, also planted a commemorative garden at the bowling club end of Rhodes Park with a fig tree in remembrance of the rape victims.

"Joburgers are claiming back their parks," says Scott-Wilson.

• This article was originally published in The Times.