Sandblasted or laser cut on to the stations' glass panels, commissioned artworks reflect each station's location and relevance to Joburg.

THE artworks on Rea Vaya stations, which have been translated from a graphic state into stencils for sandblasting on to the thick glass panels, are not only fetching; they also capture Joburg's aura and its cosmopolitan people.

Stamp art for the Library Gardens station

Commissioned by the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), the works are inspired by Jozi's landscape, people and heritage. Part of the brief to artists was that each work should be relevant to the station's topography and the people who use it.

The steel panelling on the narrower inner city stations combine the stencil approach with laser-cutting. In both instances, artists have selected to introduce limited colour layers to heighten the sandblasted detail and steel treatments.

Thireshen Govender is an architect for UrbanWorks Architecture and Urbanism. His company, in collaboration with Turkis and The Trinity Session, were appointed by the JDA to procure and install artworks on all Bus Rapid Transit stations. In all, about 38 artists were commissioned to provide the works.

Playful art at Westgate station

Govender says there was no particular brief from the City apart from ensuring that the work was representative of the artistic talent that abounds in Jozi. "Our team developed a brief that encouraged artworks to respond to specific site conditions. An example of this may be the exhaust pipes artwork in Soweto or the patterns in the fashion district."

The art is applied on to the glass either via vinyl or steel via paint or laser cutting. "This figure applies to both phase 1A and 1B."

To artists, the brief was to produce works that made general reference to transport, the city, its people and particularly each station's geographic location, he explains. "For example, if the station was located around a taxi rank, themes of daily migration, movement of goods and peoples, dialogues were brought into the discussion."

TICKET BOOTHS

All 26 Rea Vaya stations completed in the first phase of implementation have artworks on them. The art is clearly visible and can be spotted either at the station entrance or next to the ticket booths, with a few exceptions. They took about six weeks to install, he says.

Stark shapes at Mooi Street

Rea Vaya stations are matchless both in design and features and although they are very similar, their setting is varied. Some of the artwork portrays bubbly street children, a train cascading through a landscape, an assortment of colours and shapes of plates of fruit and vegetables laid out on pavements and women selling wares while walking through bustling Jozi streets, all representative of their location.

Govender says the artworks engraved on the glass panels add a unique dimension to each of the stations as the actual stations are largely generic. "The artworks therefore sought to be specific by relating to the various site conditions that the stations found themselves in, ie: the inner city, Soweto, industrial landscapes, the gold reef, mine dumps."

Art has the power not only to enthral people but to educate and provoke thought; Rea Vaya's artworks are no exception. Govender says they show the voice and creative expression of Joburgers.

"Our limited feedback suggests that it is very well received and adopted by the public."

Jonathan Manning, the principal architect at Ikemeleng Architects, which designed the stations, says most feedback received about the design has been very complimentary, with positive comments in relation to their aesthetics and functionality.

"One of the international advisers to the Rea Vaya BRT project who has worked on Bus Rapid Transit projects across the world said he thought that the Rea Vaya stations were among the most striking that he had come across. Perhaps more importantly to us as designers is that, gathering from conversations overheard in the stations and on the buses, Rea Vaya passengers seem to like the design," he explains.

Artists with works on the stations include Alexander Horsler, Stacy Vorster, Molemo Moiloa, Dave Rossouw and Robyn Penn.

Related stories:
Westgate Station tops at transport hub
New art for stations
Station artists named
BRT station artwork celebrates the city's heritage
Rea Vaya art wins BASA