Art & Places,  Cape Town, SA,  sculpture

Art & Places: Beaded wire art in Cape Town

When I visited V and A Waterfront in Cape Town, wire beaded sculptures exhibited outside of the main entrance of African Trading Port captured my eyes.  They were huge,very fine and the detailings were magnificent! I wonder how long does it take and how many beads were needed to create one big sculpture. But one thing for sure, this kind of art needs tons of perseverance. It is just amazing that these wire arts are created from wire, beads, tin cans, and other recycled materials. Other than big sculpture like the above, smaller pieces of the wire art in the form of keychains, dolls, decorations, etc, can be found at the  Waterfront Craft Market.

According to this website, it is believed that this wire art originated in South Africa’s rural Northern Kwazulu-Natal. Young herd boys were the first to introduce these works of art. Designing wire creations from any recycled materials they could find, these boys produced some of the most magnificent, functioning appliances—they even built cars! Their inspirational wire creations encouraged other locals to participate in this highly marketable art form.

 

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