Written by Pamela Victor, photograph taken by Andre Victor.
On Saturday, 28 August, crowds gathered at the slipway next to the lagoon to witness the unveiling of Sedgefield 1 – a mosaic creation by Masithandane’s mosaic team – Hyla Hartlief, Sophia Nguma, Petrus Kiewiets and Ricardo Baadjies – that is bound to become one of the village’s greatest tourism icons.
Jacky Weaver, Chairperson of Masithandane, welcomed everyone to the historic unveiling, and Colleen Durant, General Manager of Visit Knysna, expressed her appreciation to all involved in the project.
“Sedgefield can be justly proud of this mosaic masterpiece, and it can confidently take its place in the overall Knysna Interactive Art project,” she said.
Then Masithandane’s guitar group, the “Lil Dudes,” delighted the crowd as they played and sang Bob Marley’s “Three little birds” with much enthusiasm.
Then the big moment arrived. Councillor Skozana and Ms Durant cut the red ribbon while Jacky Weaver and Hyla Hartlief peeled back a white silk cover. Voila! ‘Sedgefield 1’ emerged – a gleaming bright blue and silver mosaic masterpiece with a perfectly crafted protea on her boot and colourful panels of flowers on her bonnet. Her headlamps sparkled in the sun as laughing children rushed forward eager to climb onto her wooden seats.
After a long dreary winter, the rain stopped, the clouds separated, and sunbeams danced upon the water. Sedgefielders, both young and old, gathered around the once dilapidated volksie taking “selfies” and having fun.
