‘Pinkvert’ comes clean on painting town pink
You've seen the pink. The luminous colour streaming down Joburg's abandoned buildings and over pavements.
Unlike on a regular day, the pink made you look up at the buildings that are so derelict that they are passable at best.
Perhaps this is proof that artist, Yazmany Arboleda had a bright idea all along. For things that were forgotten, to be noticed again.
Arboleda is an artistic force who’s been pushing boundaries with public displays for years. One of these displays is called Monday Mornings, where thousands of balloons are used as living sculptures, and handed out to the public.
The conceptual artist is renowned for handing out 10 000 bright pink ‘peace’ balloons in Kabul in war-torn Afghanistan last year. Arboleda has added his voice to a myriad of social issues, this time around it is Joburg’s forgotten spaces.
In an open letter published on www.voicesofafrica.co.za on 28 August, Arboleda made a clear and unabashed statement on why he and fellow activists painted some city spaces bright pink. He also talks about his arrest early in August after he was found trespassing in one of the buildings the group painted, and his stay at Johannesburg Central Police Station.
So why did he do it?
According to Arboleda he realised buildings, like some city dwellers, have become rejected by municipal structures.
As a result, he and his team decided to break into municipal and privately owned buildings.
“If the broken windows theory prescribes a zero tolerance policy for even minor damage to property, how can entire structures be abandoned, left to rot, without devastating effects on those who can not afford to move to other neighbourhoods?” he asked.
According to Arboleda, he and his team started scouting buildings during the day, and entered the premises in the early morning to start painting their message.
One morning in early August they were caught by police, which meant an end to the group’s colour takeover. He was charged with malicious damage to property, and made an enemy of the purveyors of Joburg’s heritage, who believe though with good intention, the paint used by Arboleda caused harm to a few of Joburg’s so-called Blue Plaques.
“From what I had observed in Jozi’s urban environment, there is not much of that colour anywhere,” Arboleda said.
“No South African brands seemed to use this colour [hot pink] and therefore it would be easy to create new associations in Johannesburg’s cultural landscape. “The artists, and most people who learned about the project in the following weeks, were excited about the idea and valued the style, urgency, underground stealth, surprise approach and the overall intention of the project.”
Since he’s arrest, Arboleda has left South Africa, but made it clear he will be back.
“The project we started is on-going and more buildings will be painted soon,” he added. “Just like some of the legacy of apartheid, these buildings may be abandoned, but they are still standing. Now more than ever we are responsible for being aware of colour – whether it be in the black and white of race, or the pink of social injustice.”
Previous article: City’s historic buildings painted bright pink
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