Jaco Sieberhagen - Judge, 1999

Jaco Sieberhagen (1961-)
Judge (1999)
Carved wood / 824 x 227 x 230 mm
CCAC #0236

Donated by the artist in 1999

Artist Jaco Sieberhagen found a piece of driftwood in the river running through the mountains around Worcester, which he sculpted into Judge in 1999. Sieberhagen aimed to leave the original weathered wood as untouched as possible. According to him, he developed the theme for this specific piece of wood from its expressive texture, “I wanted to contribute to the ‘story’ of the sculpture instead of completely imposing my will on the wood. While carving the face, I felt that although the wood was weathered, the face should have an inner strength and portray wisdom – the wisdom that only comes with time and experience. From there, the idea developed that I could carve the lines of the scales of justice into the sculpture”.

The artwork embodies the core theme of the Constitutional Court Art Collection: the intersection of art and justice.

Photograph by Ernest Bellingan Scott

Jaco Sieberhagen first exhibited this work alongside Cecilia van Heerden in an exhibition at the Bellville Art Gallery in 1999. It was here that Judith Mason gave an opening speech which can be found here, courtesy of the Mason family estate. Mason convinced the artist to donate the work to the CCAC.

An interview with the artist is available on request.

Images of the exhibition as well as its invite are included below, courtesy of the artist.