Umoya Womoya translates from Xhosa to ‘The Wind Spirit’ or more directly ‘The Unseen Spirit’. 

The sculpture is an incarnation of that spirit, a personification of air in motion. The  strong features of this native African woman, whistles, howls and sings with the energy of the wind as it passes through her. 

Inspired by the ever present winds of the Cape, and the deep rooted connection we as African people have to nature. This sculptures takes one simple man-made object and through repetition it develops into something far more complex. She will stand juxtaposed in her representation of nature. Born from unnatural forged elements to represent our misguided detachment from the natural world, yet providing a voice for nature to speak to us.

The larger tubes have been  modified into flutes or whistles. As air blows through the sculpture it will serve as a wind instrument, communicating with its surroundings. 

The sculpture will be mounted onto a concrete plinth which contains a central bearing, allowing the piece to be rotated 360 degrees by the viewer, thus instigating interaction. Giving the viewer the ability to change the direction she faces, and in doing so the sound that she creates. 

The kinetic interaction between the viewer and Umoya Womoya provides a plane of engagement that incorporates both the art piece, and one of nature’s most intangible forces. The element of play, manifested in the manipulation of the piece to interact with the wind, encourages the participant to tune into nature and their surroundings. It creates a conscious imprint of the often unconscious effect we have on nature, and vice-versa. A reminder that we are both on the Earth, and of the Earth. 

Umoya Womoya will stand as a physical reminder of the power, beauty and importance of all natural elements, but in particular it will be an ode to the dynamism of Mother Nature’s voice. The force that we so often hear and feel, and yet rarely see.