The Sentinel

Participants needed:
The project is being developed by a small creative crew with backgrounds in art and design. We’re sharing this call-out to invite people who’d like to help bring the piece to life. Support is welcome in many forms: from build assistance and sourcing materials, to logistics, transport, and on-site assembly. Whether you’re experienced or simply willing to participate, we’d love to collaborate with others who feel inspired by the project’s vision.

Project Description:

The Sentinel is a large-scale sculptural installation that embodies the journey of confronting fear and discovering the innocence that lies beneath it.

At first sight, the piece presents itself as a towering, fearsome creature. A four-metre-tall humanoid tree, part rooted, part rising, as if it has just pulled itself from the desert floor. Its wooden limbs twist outward, its face leans downward, looming over those who approach. From below, visitors find themselves in a stare-down with the creature: a moment of primal confrontation, fear meeting fear.

Participants are also invited to write a message on a paper tag and tie it to the artwork – words, phrases, or drawings that represent what holds them back. These offerings become part of the sculpture itself, fluttering like leaves in the wind.

Details of Gift:

When the burn comes, the tags and the monster will be consumed together: a symbolic release of collective fear into smoke and ash.
The artwork will transform as the flames consume it, revealing the tender, almost absurd innocence that often lies hidden beneath what we once imagined to be monstrous.

Joining Requirements:

Ideally we’d like to collaborate with someone who can be in Cape Town at least two weeks before the burn starts, to build the artwork. If anybody has connections for sourcing materials, tools and transportation, that’s a big plus.

Additional Details:

None!

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