Hand of Peace for Africa

Hand of Peace for Africa features the artist’s own left hand cast in blue glass, rising over the African continent against a sea and sky rendered in resin infused with glass granules. African symbols are integrated into the hand-blown glass elements that form the map of the continent. Originally conceived for installation in an Anglo American building in Johannesburg, the artist retained the work with plans to create a further surrounding structure in graded coloured glass blocks.

The open hand, a universal sign of welcome, offering and peace, evokes the principles of dignity, unity and justice central to South Africa’s constitutional vision. Positioned within the Court, the work speaks to a continent striving toward healing and shared humanity, its rising sun suggesting renewal and a brighter future for all who call Africa home.

In July 2004, Shirley Cloete Studios arranged the transport of the artwork from Morgenster Farm in Cape Town to the Constitutional Court.