Beautiful mosaic public art celebrating the history of 7000 German settlers who landed in the Eastern Cape between 1856 and the 1870s was erected at Heroes Park on the beachfront at the weekend.
But residents and officials worry that the area is being used as a public toilet.
A Quigney resident, who asked not to be named for fear of being victimised, said: “It is a mess.
“Nobody is taking ownership of cleaning it.”
Last week, five 1.4m x 2m mosaic plaques were grouted onto the walls to replace bronze plaques ripped off in the late 1990s.
The mosaics were cut, arranged and mounted by a Cape Town art company, Mosaic Works.
Owner-artist Jacqueline Charles, 37, said she and her assistant, Blessings Chipwaila, spent three days attaching the panels, which depict the gruelling but ultimately successful story of landless poor Germans who started arriving to take occupation of rent farms in 1857.
This involved life-size printouts of the works, sourcing colour-matched tiles, and cutting them with a tungsten double-blade hand-operated cutter.
The mosaic pictures were attached to fibreglass mesh, driven to East London and mounted.
But Charles said: “The only thing is that the place is absolutely disgusting.
“It is filthy with poep, bones and old food.
“I gathered that people from the mobile brothel in the parking lot (nearby) use the site as a toilet.”
Her company’s R119000 tender beat those of local artists.
She said: “We were asked to tender by Leon .
“We quoted. Ours was accepted. Thanks. Business is business. I have families to feed.
“Work is work.”
Du Preez refused to comment, saying he was a BCM employee, and referred the Daily Dispatch to metro spokesman Keith Ngesi.
Ngesi and BCM’s development co-operation and international relations manager, Darby Gounden, said the challenge was to protect the artworks from vandals and prevent people using the square as a toilet. Gounden said: “We have some beautiful art. Keeping the area clean is the second part of the project.”
Terry Flynn, chairman of the East London Fine Art Society, said: “The mosaics are beautifully done, but the trash and faeces around them is disgusting.
“It has been said that art reveals the soul of the people long after they have gone, and keeping the viewing area clean goes together with that.
“I pick up rubbish in the street. This is a magical world and we all need to look after it.” — mikel@dispatch.co.za
Heroes Park art installed in a stink
But residents and officials worry that the area is being used as a public toilet.
A Quigney resident, who asked not to be named for fear of being victimised, said: “It is a mess.
“Nobody is taking ownership of cleaning it.”
Last week, five 1.4m x 2m mosaic plaques were grouted onto the walls to replace bronze plaques ripped off in the late 1990s.
The mosaics were cut, arranged and mounted by a Cape Town art company, Mosaic Works.
Owner-artist Jacqueline Charles, 37, said she and her assistant, Blessings Chipwaila, spent three days attaching the panels, which depict the gruelling but ultimately successful story of landless poor Germans who started arriving to take occupation of rent farms in 1857.
This involved life-size printouts of the works, sourcing colour-matched tiles, and cutting them with a tungsten double-blade hand-operated cutter.
The mosaic pictures were attached to fibreglass mesh, driven to East London and mounted.
But Charles said: “The only thing is that the place is absolutely disgusting.
“It is filthy with poep, bones and old food.
“I gathered that people from the mobile brothel in the parking lot (nearby) use the site as a toilet.”
Her company’s R119000 tender beat those of local artists.
She said: “We were asked to tender by Leon .
“We quoted. Ours was accepted. Thanks. Business is business. I have families to feed.
“Work is work.”
Du Preez refused to comment, saying he was a BCM employee, and referred the Daily Dispatch to metro spokesman Keith Ngesi.
Ngesi and BCM’s development co-operation and international relations manager, Darby Gounden, said the challenge was to protect the artworks from vandals and prevent people using the square as a toilet. Gounden said: “We have some beautiful art. Keeping the area clean is the second part of the project.”
Terry Flynn, chairman of the East London Fine Art Society, said: “The mosaics are beautifully done, but the trash and faeces around them is disgusting.
“It has been said that art reveals the soul of the people long after they have gone, and keeping the viewing area clean goes together with that.
“I pick up rubbish in the street. This is a magical world and we all need to look after it.” — mikel@dispatch.co.za
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