James Delaney has created several art installations from Fashion Week collaborative garments and backdrops, tributes to Nelson Mandela made from thousands of cups of coffee in public spaces, a fabric tree recreation of a baobab lithograph, and a wire tree installation.
Installation using archival images of Victorian Johannesburg, housed in a room formerly part of a brothel in the historic Cosmopolitan Hotel, looking onto Johannesburg’s first street. The installation explored untold stories in a city which has always attracted migrant workers – including migrant sex workers.
Recreating one of the baobab lithographs on the exhibition in the gallery alongside this open space, by reinterpreting one of Johannesburg’s ubiquitous eucalyptus trees with large panels of fabric. The artist worked with Alex Nxumalo to install the piece. The fabric was given to charity afterwards.
The Sustaining Tree installation was created from wire around the trunk of a dead sapling, with leaves of recycled paper containing seeds.
Following on from the first installation, this was twice the size – building Nelson Mandela’s birthday portrait from 5000 cups of coffee, but this time on the square in front of the South African Constitutional Court, Johannesburg. Again, 4 shades were used by mixing different amounts of coffee and milk, and this time visitors were encouraged…
Building a portrait of Nelson Mandela for his birthday from 2700 cups of coffee, below his statue at Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton. The installation used 4 shades, by mixing different amounts of coffee and milk. Watch the Video
A collaboration with Craig Jacobs of sustainable fashion label Fundudzi, applying the acacia trees of line paintings to dresses and the stage during SA Fashion Week Johannesburg.