Chipping away at Jan to put a princess in her rightful place
If you’ve ever found yourself in that hipster hood Maboneng, chances are you have seen a very EFF-unfriendly mural of Jan van Riebeeck on a crumbling building façade.
Well, how fitting that in the week the red berets celebrate their fifth birthday, old Jan has been scrapped for the distinctive visage of the woman dubbed the Princess of Africa. The portrait of Yvonne Chaka Chaka was created over four days by street artist Alexandre Farto, whose tag name in graffiti circles is Vhils and who is known for his innovative technique, which combines stencilling and chipping away at walls. The artwork was revealed during a swish event by cognac purveyor Hennessy on Thursday evening as part of its “Making the Invisible Visible” campaign, for which Vhils also designed limited-edition bottles.
Guest at The Cosmopolitan retail space slash restaurant slash gallery included artist James Delaney (whose transformation of The Wilds is earning him kudos), Kaya FM’s Kojo Baffoe and Jonathan Liebmann, whose company is responsible for the gentrification of the inner-city precinct.
Then there were a host of music and fashion types, from Dumi Gwebu, who earns a living styling shoots, to chic Thandeka Khoza, who seemingly spends her time styling herself for her Instagram feed. MC for the evening was the always dapper Mthoko “Dash” Mkhathini, but all eyes were on Vhils, the man dubbed the Portuguese answer to Banksy, who said it was an honour to “create an homage to people who are really making a difference”.
Meanwhile, the mural capped off a massive few days for Mama Yvonne, who last week sang for former US president Barack Obama and shared the special unveiling moment with husband Tiny Mhinga, and their sons Ningi, Themba, Mandla and Mfuma.
“I am so grateful to God for giving me this life, and to my family for giving me the support for all the work I do,” said the
Umqombothi singer, who these days channels most of her energy into her humanitarian efforts with the UN and The Global Fund.
Entertainment came from hip-hop artist Frank Casino and between cocktails we lined our bellies with carpaccio on herbed bruschetta, butternut and orange soup, cheesy corn jalapeño empanadas and bowls of chicken korma and oxtail.