The Sculpture course begins with the Bachelor of Visual Arts First Year.
Click here for more information about the First Year.

The practice of sculpture is intertwined with architecture and its embellishments since mans first crafted dwellings were constructed. Before this time, sculpture was rooted in the service of the tribe in the form of fetish, for example, the Venus of Laspaux. Sculpture today is far-removed from the beautiful marble limb and the public monument to the fallen dead from some long-forgotten war.

The bronze casting furnace in the sculpture studio. By Shane van Heerden ©2016

Sculpture is used for architectural decoration, the beautification of public spaces, as trophies for sporting and ever other imaginable award, as private and intimate object for consideration and reflection. Sculpture is especially used as a means or process for the expression of ideas and concepts which reflect contemporary issues with which society is concerned.

Sculpture tools by Amos Ragophala ©2016

Postmodern sculpture allows for immense creativity and cross-disciplinary inter-relationships without the necessity of having to reinvent the proverbial wheel.

The sculpture department has a broad and open-minded approach to the interpretation of three-dimensional form, subject, content, and context. However, the basis for any successful intellectual execution of the sculpture demands a thorough knowledge of the skills and processes required for the work's execution. Therefore, students are taught the necessary skills of modelling, carving, construction, welding, joining, and are introduced to the characteristics and properties of a vast array of materials from which sculpture can be made. 

Once these have been mastered and the processes of thinking and design have been assimilated, the senior sculpture student is encouraged to explore the boundaries of his/her own creativity in search of a personal identity and iconography.

Sculpture Graduate, Justin Lucas on Blacksmithing. Video by photography graduate, Jenade Augustine ©2017

Sculpture student, Sarah Walmsley, by Khangelani Kota ©2016

Nelson Mandela University Sculpture Graduate Alumni Links:

https://www.angelmey.com

http://www.andrietawentzel.net

http://georginawinch.com

http://www.jonathanvanderwalt.co.za

https://www.sarahwalmsley.co.za

https://erinsmith.co.za

Follow our social media profiles and join our mailing list:

https://linktr.ee/visual_art_nmu

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Contact information
Ms Hermolene Adams
Secretary: Visual Arts Department: BVA First Year
Tel: 27 41 504 3256
Hermolene.Adams@mandela.ac.za

Mr Jonathan Van der Walt
Associate Lecturer: Visual Arts
Tel: 0415043293
Jonathan.vanderwalt@mandela.ac.za

Ms Isabel Mertz
Senior Lecturer Sculpture
Isabel-Roswitha.Mertz@mandela.ac.za