South African artist’s vibrant sculptures fill Johannesburg parks with color and joy

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, artist James Delaney has designed more than 100 sculptures for The Wilds Park in Johannesburg. 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. 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. “What I found at The Wilds that I spent a couple of years fixing the park and planting and weeding and restoring the infrastructure. We did a lot of work, and we couldn't get people to go back, and then I had this idea of making laser-cut steel sculptures. First of a set of 67 owls, and then later on the kudu and the giraffe, and then all those big pieces. And it's that which turned The Wilds around. Because those become draw cards and we live in an era now of the photograph. It's all about the photo that you take. Particularly if you could be in the photograph and next to something which is a landmark and public art is a landmark,” explains Delaney. “When you come upon a piece of art where you least expect it, it's like magic. You immediately smile, and you wonder, you ask questions: how did this happen? What's the story behind this? Who are the people who put this here?" says Johannesburg resident, Nadia Nicholaaspar. "It makes you think, well, somebody or a group of people love this place enough to put this effort into it, so I'm going to love it too. I'm going to be a little bit more respectful." This article was provided by The Associated Press.