Gun Free Sculpture

Gun Free Reef
Sculpture
Lynton Francois Burger
Gun Free Reef Sculpture will be lifesized bronze sculpture (approx. 2m high,
2m wide, 3m long) installed in a harbour
or waterfront precinct (ideally in Cape
Town, South Africa) where as many
people as possible can contemplate and
begin to actualise the powerful words of
Nelson Mandela, spoken at a rally in
then war-torn Kwazulu-Natal, South
Africa, shortly after his release in 1990 …
“Take your guns and your knives and your pangas
and throw them into the sea”
The idea for this sculpture first came to me on the Robben Island Ferry in 1996, whilst working as the island’s first
Environmental Manager. After Madiba’s passing at the end of 2013, I felt compelled to bring my vision to life. So,
in early 2014 I travelled to Mexico and spent a month in residence at Art21 Studio outside Guadalajara crafting
the bronze maquette (photos) for Gun Free Reef Sculpture.
The sculpture has a broad and deep anti-violence message - not only is it a call to end our violence
against each other - but also a call to end our violence against the planet.
For this reason I have chosen the turtle – the long-suffering, “peaceful messenger” of the sea – as the central
figure of the piece. She holds an AK47 over a pile of guns, knives and pangas that she has discarded into the sea.
She is resting on a likeness of Robben Island, with the infamous main prison depicted as a bomb/grenade (just to
the right of the back left flipper - below).
The turtle shell is in the likeness of a Zulu war shield with its characteristic
structural strips near the centre - there are 27 - one for each year that Nelson
Mandela was incarcerated. This shield/shell speaks not only of the human
struggle for freedom (symbol of Umkhonto we Sizwe) but also of ecological
protection.
The position of the prison on the Robben Island base is shown as a
bomb/grenade - symbolic of the explosive potential of the great leaders
incarcerated there - as well as the ecological time bomb that is ticking.
Will we listen to Nelson Mandela and throw our weapons away? … and when will
we bring an end to what I think of as the “Ultimate Apartheid”, our separation
from nature, and begin to live in harmony with the planet?
Guns to Reef Concept:
Apart from one or more “above-water” public bronze sculpture/s, my ultimate
vision is to inspire a series of artificial underwater reefs around the world that
are constructed from actual weapons (i.e. to see marine life flourish and
protected on reef structure created by discarded weapons).
I have identified Bronze Age Studio (www.bronzeage.co.za) in Woodstock, Cape Town, as the ideal studio to work
with in producing the full-size sculpture, and have made initial contact with owner Otto Du Plessis, confirming their
technical ability and availability to handle a project of this size.
I am now seeking the right partners (city councils, waterfront land-owners, gun-free associations, collaborators,
supporters, funders etc.) to bring the first life-sized bronze sculpture to life.
Lynton Francois Burger, 2015
GUN FREE REEF SCULPTURE © Lynton Francois Burger
lynton@lyntonburger.com
About Lynton Francois Burger and the story (so far …) of Gun Free Sculpture
I am a Capetonian, sustainability professional, marine conservationist, diver and artist.
I am also a pacifist with an abhorrence for violence.
After completing an MSc in Marine Ecology at Rhodes University (diving in the mystical
Tsitsikamma National Marine Park in South Africa), I got married and my wife and I
moved to Canada – where I worked as a research diver and field biologist for several
years. We returned to South Africa after the first democratic elections.
In 1996, whilst working as an environmental consultant at the University of Cape Town, I
was seconded to Robben Island where I served on the first interim management
committee as the island’s first Environmental Manager.
One evening, returning home from the island to the mainland on the ferry, day-dreaming as I stared out over the
sea towards Table Mountain, I found myself thinking about a newspaper article and accompanying photograph I’d
seen about confiscated weapons from Cape Town gangs being melted down for scrap. I had also recently had the
privilege of greeting the great man, Nelson Mandela, and shaking his hand at the Heritage Day celebrations on the
island.
As I held the image of the confiscated guns in my mind, Madiba’s words “Take your guns and your knives and your
pangas and throw them into the sea” from his speech to warring Zulus in 1990 came to me, and in one of those
moments of clarity the idea was born! What if we took those weapons and created an artificial reef! Turn evil into
good. Use art (a sculpture) as the foundation for new life in the sea.
For various reasons I was not ready then to actualise the idea - but it stayed with me. The years went by as I
started a family, built a career and a house, moved around the world. Every now and then the idea would come up
and I added notes and cuttings and print outs in a folder.
As I headed into my 40s, successive waves of creative urges drove me to try my hand at various visual media
(painting, small sculptures). I attended a few drawing classes. I discovered my great passion for underwater
photo-art (see www.lyntonburger-art.com). In 2012, I was inducted into the international Ocean Artists Society
(www.oceanartistssociety.org). Working for a corporate client in Durban, South Africa, brought me back into
regular contact with Carl Roberts, a good university friend and world-renowned sculptor. He is a big influence.
In December 2014, Madiba passed away. Like many millions around the world
I was profoundly touched and I found myself re-inspired and compelled to do
something about my idea. So, in early 2014 as I turned 50, I took my family
off to Mexico for a five month sabbatical that included a month-long residency
at Art21 Studio (www.art21studio.com) outside Guadalajara, surrounded by
its ring of volcanos.
Working closely with Edward Quiroz Mattson, his father Francisco, and the rest
of the amazing crew at the studio, I immersed myself in the task of not only
learning the basics of throwing bronze but also conceptualising the design and
form of the sculpture. Over this month a lifetime of dreaming came to the fore
and Gun Free Reef Sculpture was born.
I have now initiated the next
stage of the process, which
is to bring the full size
bronze to life, and to
discover where it’s home is.
GUN FREE REEF SCULPTURE © Lynton Francois Burger
lynton@lyntonburger.com