56 on Buckingham Avenue
GRAIGHALL PARK – Local artist's studio holds a wealth of history.
A local artist has turned an old building on Buckingham Avenue into a gem of a studio after waiting patiently for eight years to put his mark on it.
Yiull Damaso, got into hot water in recent years for his artwork titled The Night Watch which features prominent South Africans such as Jacob Zuma, FW de Klerk, Desmond Tutu, Cyril Ramaphosa, Helen Zille and Thabo Mbeki with late child activist and HIV/Aids patient, Nkosi Johnson, in front of them dissecting a dead Nelson Mandela.
He said a painter, who assisted him in painting his studio almost four years ago, claimed the building used to be a post office in the days of old. “People coming through have told me about the history of the shop,” said Damaso.
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“I have heard someone say it was an old plumber’s shop and someone else who grew up in the corner house which is now converted, said it used to be an automotive workshop, but the best part that I know is from the guy who helped me paint the building.”
Damaso said the old painter moved to Blairgowrie in 1963 and apparently, he painted most of the houses in the Craighall Park area.
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The renovated studio has two entrances to the building, which, according to Damaso, were entrances to an old post office. The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation said there was no evidence in their records to support the claim of it being an old post office.
A spokesperson from the foundation said, “We visited the artist last year and tried to verify the information given to us. Unfortunately, we were unable to find anything on the property.”
Landlord, Gilles Botbyl said the property was purchased from a woman whose husband had owned the property for many years, operated his business from the premises and lived above his shop.
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