UBUNTU-19
I Am Because We Are
Los Angeles, 2021
Hot- and cold-rolled steel tube and schedule pipe, epoxy-coated inner surface; external surfaces left to oxidize
Internal diameter: 57 in (145 cm) | Width: 108 in (220 cm) | Weight: 700 lb (320 kg)
Series: 1/1 | P.O.A.
Ubuntu-19 proposes that human connection, between apparently disparate individuals, is the force that builds and sustains community.
Built as a monument to the human grit, ingenuity, and love that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ubuntu-19 renounces isolation and invites social proximity within the husk of the defeated virus.
Visitors are invited to sit together within the circular form of the sculpture. Please touch the art. The polished steel interior contrasts with an untreated exterior that slowly oxidises over time. Through touch and use, the interior surface becomes smoother and brighter, shaped and sustained by human contact. In contrast, the exterior, defining the virus and the separation it imposed, rusts slowly in isolation.
This material transformation reflects the work of Ubuntu Army, a global grassroots movement founded by the artist in Durban, South Africa. Ubuntu Army advocates for direct human connection across social, economic, religious and political divides. It is through connection that division dissolves and community is forged.
Ubuntu-19 offers a simple proposition: share a seat with a stranger and begin a conversation. Conversation fosters connection. Connection cultivates compassion. Compassion builds community. Community dismantles division, confronts poverty, and builds resilience.
The sculpture was built during the winter 2020 lockdown in Los Angeles as a tribute to the people around the world who joined Ubuntu Army in feeding hundreds of thousands of hungry South Africans. As the pandemic spread, a global community revealed itself. Ordinary people reached across borders, differences and indifference to support vulnerable, and newly vulnerable, South Africans facing the hunger created by lockdown economics.
In the darkest moment of isolation, compassion built community.
