Redressing the stone outside the Clinical Building
EMBRACING MULTILINGUALISM
SU embraces the diversity of the South African society and strives to advance multilingualism in its academic and social spaces. To this end, an inclusive redress process was launched in 2022 to ensure the stone outside the Clinical Building represents the wider university community.
The original stone only had an Afrikaans inscription, so the key focus of the redress process was integrating the other eleven official languages. The faculty achieved this by collecting phrases, sayings and idioms from students and staff across the Tygerberg Campus. These phrases were deliberated in 12 workshops, with a final phrase chosen for each language.
The stone is encircled by 12 phrases in South Africa's official languages, etched into the surrounding bricks in kraal (corral) formation. The original Afrikaans inscription from “Die Beiteltjie" remains included among the additions.
The chosen phrases resonate with the Faculty's vision, focusing on themes of education, personal growth, and healing – apt concepts for an institution dedicated to lifelong learning and progress in health sciences,
Click
here to read the chosen phrases surrounding the stone.
REPAIRING FRACTURES
The artwork was imbued with symbolism from the outset. In a ceremony before its removal, the three-ton stone was deliberately split in half with a chisel for the Kintsukuroi repair method to be applied by acclaimed artist, Jenna Burchell. The stone was then transported to her studio for the repair and installation of the Songsmith technique.
Fracture and repair reveal moments of change and is an important part of Burchell's artistic process. In the tradition of Kintsukuroi, the repair serves a practical purpose while conveying a deeper meaning. It acknowledges that something has been broken and highlights it as an intrinsic part of the object's beauty, enriching its narrative.
In terms of visual redress, highlighting the repair on the stone acknowledges our history without erasing it. We have rebuilt the past alongside the present and future, ensuring each has its rightful place within this archive and artwork.
The Songsmith method unveils, by means of ground-penetrating radar recording, the deep history concealed within the layers of earth beneath the stone. Integrating technology and sound into the sculpture connects it to the broader story of the stone's surroundings.
The final rock artwork was unveiled on Thursday 2 May 2024, fifty years after the stone was first placed outside the Clinical Building.
Click
here to read the programme of the unveiling of the rock artwork.
Click here to read the message from the visual redress project lead, Ms Florence De Vries.
Click
here to read the message from the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Professor Elmi Muller.
Click
here to read the message from artist, Ms Jenna Burchell.
