A 3 500 tin can statue of Mandela now exists in Victory Park

Students at a local college recreated an iconic Mandela statue for Mandela Day.

With the whole world celebrating the life of the late Nelson Mandela, students at St Augustine College of South Africa recreated a statue of the Nobel Peace Prize winner, reports Northcliff Melville Times.

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Over 3 500 cans are used in this recreation of the iconic statue of Nelson Mandela by the students of St Augustine College of South Africa.

The students entered the Rhodes Mandela Day Challenge, where they were tasked with creating a structure to honour Mandela.

After a week of engineering, brainstorming and creativity, the team finally finished their statue in time for Mandela Day.

Thomas Leigh, one of the students who took part in the building the statue, said “after a week of determination and a lot of trial and error, the project was completed.”

With a collaborative effort between Leigh and fellow students Ayanda Sibanda, Precious Motingwe, Cornel Smith and the use of over 3 500 cans, the statue was finally complete.

The Nelson Mandela statue outside of the Union Buildings in Pretoria that the students of St Augustine College of South Africa recreated.

Students of St Augustine College of South Africa welcome the public to see their Mandela Day statue that honours Madiba for the sacrifice’s he did for his country.

Leigh said that the hardest part of their mission was getting the arms to levitate in the air. Eventually, the team got it right and now their campus is home to a piece of art in memory of the late former president.

According to Leigh, the statue will be open to the public for viewing on the college’s open day on 28 July. He urges members of the community to come with their family and friends to take pictures of their work of art.

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