ABSTRACT
There is a sculpture, larger than life, in the library of the University of Cape Town’s Science and Engineering Department. Set on a low plinth, it is made of odds and ends of scrap iron. Pliers, skateboard undercarriages, shock absorbers, cylinders, screws, nuts, and other machine parts have been welded together in such a way that the shape of a woman’s body is unmistakable. The proud breasts are formed by two tangentially pointed cylinders; an iron dog-collar around the neck, a bike lock, and a sort of dog chain can be discerned; a diadem from which nickel coins are hung adorns the head; the face is welded from molten scrap iron and is averted from the viewer.
