A South African artist hopes vibrant sculptures make parks more welcoming in a city known for danger

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JOHANNESBURG (AP) — James Delaney wants his public art in South Africa’s biggest city to be more than a magnet for selfies and a delight for children. He’s determined to have the vibrant metal sculptures change the mood of its gritty and sometimes dangerous neighborhoods.

Over the past decade, Delaney has designed more than 100 sculptures for The Wilds Park in Johannesburg. A striking red steel kudu antelope stands near a hill’s summit. A curious assembly of stencil owls peer down from jacaranda trees. A life-size pink giraffe installation dominates a grassy clearing.

“Artworks can bring a sense of life to public spaces,” said Delaney, a 53-year-old sculptor and painter who has exhibited his work in London, Paris and New York.

“And public spaces need lots of people to be functional and to be safe.”

Authorities in Johannesburg have encouraged public art to improve safety and environmental conditions in the city of some 6 million people whose downtown has a reputation for crime and degradation. Johannesburg is considered one of the world’s most dangerous cities, based on crime data.

Much of Johannesburg’s street art and public works reflect South Africa’s former life under the white minority rule of apartheid and the efforts at reconciliation after that divisive system ended.

Delaney’s work strives to do something simpler for residents in a city where dirty, uninviting sidewalks and safety concerns make it rare for the average person to take a stroll.

“One can create a public space which is grass and trees and it’s OK and nice. But one has to do more than that to really attract people and to capture their imagination,” Delaney said.

The Wilds is in the midst of Johannesburg’s contrasts.

One side of the park is bordered by the tree-lined Killarney suburb and affluent Houghton, home to Nelson Mandela during the final years of his presidency as the country’s first Black leader. The other side borders a transition into the bustling, sometimes broken-down areas of Berea and Yeoville.

Lydia Ndhlovu, a 38-year-old mother, watched her children play on the jungle gym, a break from their apartment with no yard.

“I don’t feel safe being alone here with them, but I like seeing the elderly people enjoying the park from my window, because then I know we can be free and also come,” she said.

Some residents say Johannesburg’s reputation for crime is unfair.

“Quite often the narrative in the city of Johannesburg is all parks are unsafe,” said Jenny Moodley, a spokeswoman for Johannesburg City Parks, which maintains 22 nature reserves, 15 bird sanctuaries and more than 2,000 public parks.

“Many of these open spaces are safe, little children play unsupervised, and we know elements such as art reinforce that this is a vibrant space to play, to come together with your families and friends and to also express yourself,” Moodley said.

Delaney first encountered The Wilds as an overgrown, deserted park while walking his puppy Pablo — named after Picasso — in 2014. Since then, he has repaired and painted benches, pruned plants and attracted volunteers and donors to help turn it into a buzzing meeting point.

The special ingredient might be the sculptures that now draw moms with babies, yoga enthusiasts and schoolchildren from nearby apartment blocks.

Delaney last week unveiled a second urban park regeneration in Killarney, where a 3-meter-high (9.8-foot) bright orange gate features a sculpture of a raptor perched on a native aloe plant, encouraging passers-by to enter and explore.

Anna Starcke, an 88-year-old former political analyst and journalist, is one of Killarney’s oldest residents, though her pink lipstick and green sunglasses strike a more contemporary tone. To her, the art in the parks speaks of inclusion. One of the delights of her day is chatting with other visitors.

“It’s very important that people get the feeling that it’s theirs because that is the big thing, that Black people (during apartheid) never felt it’s theirs,” she said. “If we can get a majority of people to care about their parks, art in their parks, and being together in their parks, sitting on the same bench, then we have won.”

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