The lawns on the Sea Point promenade have become home to the ninth stage of a global project by mural artist Saype called Beyond Walls.
French-born artist Guillaume Legros, who works under the name Saype, unveiled his mural, marked directly on the grass with eco-responsible paint, on Monday, January 25.
Beyond Walls aims to break down political and social barriers among communities with the hope to encourage positive dialogue.
Two other grass murals have been created in Langa and Philippi.
The project was launched in 2019 at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, on the Champ de Mars.
The unveiling kicked off as a precursor to the International Public Art Festival (IPAF), which runs from Wednesday February 10 to Sunday February 14.
Saype said his main idea was to find a way to find global solutions for humanity and bring down the walls that separate and divide people.
His aim with Beyond Walls is to create the largest human chain in the world by taking the project to more than 30 cities.
“It’s been five years of trying to link more than 30 cities together,” he said.
He said he came to Africa in 2020 and had to find a place to start and has already gone to cities in countries such as Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Egypt.
He said when he chooses the city, he chooses the seaside and thinks about the story he wants to share with the world. “I chose different locations, Langa, Philippi and Sea Point because they tell different stories. I wanted to tell the story of Cape Town from different perspectives,” he said.
He said as an artist, he aims to inspire people with his work. “I went to townships and made pieces of art and some people were shocked to see a white guy doing this in townships,” he said.
He said he wants to see people working together as human beings and fight division.
“Striving to overcome and recover from the dark time of apartheid, South Africa constitutes a crucial milestone for Beyond Walls. The gigantic hands, painted in three different places of the city, symbolise the reconciling will of Nelson Mandela by linking, beyond social and economic inequalities, the three districts of Sea Point, Philippi and Langa. I therefore hope that my artworks may be a modest contribution to reconcile humans at the heart of a city still healing its wounds,” Saype posted.
