In March 2015 the Baywest Mall launched an urban art campaign which kicked off with a competition calling on artists to come up with ideas for an innovative and unique 7m-tall sculpture. The budget for the sculpture was R500 000 combined with a R50 000 prize for the artist. Urban art has the ability to provide soul to an area, and it is expected this piece will be followed by more over time.
The winners of the campaign were artist Louwrens Westraad and Mxolisi “Dolla” Sapeta. Their winning concept titled Ujiva (isiXhosa for “dancing”), the 7m-tall Ujiva is hard to miss as you approach the end of Walker Drive.
The multidimensional work of art depicts abstract female figures dancing around a large sphere.By day, the sunlight bounces off the sculpture, creating different shadows and points of visual interest as the light refracts.At night, it comes alive as it is illuminated by solar-charged lights and when the city’s infamous westerly wind hits the steel frames, a musical range of four octaves is emitted.
Westraad said: “This is an apolitical sculpture for the city. The dancers do not belong to any specific race or creed; they are universal and represent fluidity, endurance and strength.”
Sapeta said the design “allows for a lot of interactivity using dance”. “When you’re dancing, you’re free. The spherical nature of the sculpture relates to Africa with its rondavels and traditional meetings with people sitting in a circle.”
Please be careful of traffic. The circle can get busy"