Alexandra Carron with her yellow and blue frog

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The wire structure of the gecko

The mosaic starts to go on

Here comes the sunny gecko A MOSAIC sculpture of a gecko is being made by a French artist, two local artists and Kliptown schoolchildren. It is to be placed in New Road Park in Kliptown, ahead of the opening of Kliptown Square later this month. June 7, 2005 By Lucille Davie A GORGEOUS gecko, called "The Sunny Gecko", is being made in preparation for the opening of the Kliptown Square in June. The gecko, measuring 3,5 metres in length, is being made by French mosaic artist Alexandra Carron, with two local sculptors - Bongani Gumede from Kliptown and Bob Maluleke from Soweto - and 100 children from Kliptown. It is to be installed, together with three mosaic balls, in New Road Park in Kliptown, on 21 June, ahead of the official opening of Kliptown Square. About 40 000 people are expected to attend the event. Alexandra Carron with helpers, with the moulded gecko Carron gave the community a choice of animals, and the gecko was finally chosen over a giraffe. It was thought a giraffe would be unsafe if children climbed its tall neck. She has made a tall, orange giraffe and a chubby, yellow frog previously, which are now permanently on display in the grounds of the Necker Hospital in Paris. Carron, a well-known mosaic artist, was born in Paris in 1969. She has worked on private and public projects in Europe for a decade, before moving to Johannesburg two years ago. She now travels between Paris and Jozi, spending most of her time in the City of Gold. The gecko was first sculpted in wire, then covered in plaster of Paris, and once it is dry, the mosaic chips will be glued on. The square itself will be opened on 26 June, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Freedom Charter. President Thabo Mbeki will lead his cabinet in formally opening the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication on the anniversary, along with Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa and Johannesburg Executive Mayor Councillor Amos Masondo. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za