Madiba Ray-Ban sunglasses sculpture vandalised

Madiba Ray-Ban sunglasses sculpture vandalised

Over the past couple of days my newsfeed on Facebook has been awash with Cape Town mates posing next to a huge pair of Ray-Ban wayfarer sunglasses on the Sea Point promenade.

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Artist Michael Elion and the City of Cape Town created these huge shades as part of the World Design Capital 2014. 

They are called 'Perceiving freedom' and they face Robben Island - with the idea being that they are a tribute to our late Tata and his legacy. 

The sunnies have been met with controversy, to say the least - with many calling the public art (or should that be 'ad'?) a tad opportunistic. 

Then just last night, the shades had the words 'Myopic art' and 'Remember Marikana' stencilled onto them - while 'we broke your hearts' was sprayed across the lenses of the sunglasses by the guerrilla graffiti artist group, Tokolos Stencil Collective. 

(Above photos: Via tokolosstencils.tumblr.com

Could this new addition make this public art a more true depiction of our collective remembrance of our bumpy past?

What do you think: vandalism or freedom of speech?

(Thumbnail image: Via Instagram.com/basilparker) 

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