A daunting task, the sculpture of Adelaide Tambo needed to join that of her husband Oliver Tambo which had been beautifully sculpted by artist Zelda Stroud a few years earlier.

It was important for me that the sculpture of Adelaide portrayed not only her passionate, independent spirit, but when put together with Oliver, would also have a sense of the great union and partnership she shared with her husband. Their strength of commitment, love and respect for each other that remained steadfast through the greatest adversity.

Adelaide Tambo had incredible inner strength and a commanding personality that made her a force to be reckoned with and she became a prominent anti-apartheid activist and spent decades in political exile.
She was also an incredibly caring and compassionate women as well as being creative and one who loved beautiful things.

The sculptures form part of The Long March to Freedom at Century City, Cape Town. This is an installation that will eventually see an outdoor procession of more than 400 life-size bronze figures honouring individuals who fought for democracy, against oppression in South Africa – the heroes of the liberation struggle. Long March to Freedom website

The Long March to Freedom was recently featured on television in South Africa on the Expresso Show. Here a link to the segment, I speak about my experience creating the sculpture of Adelaide Tambo starting at 2min40 in the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpLHNO6TQuM

Sculptures copyright to The Long March to Freedom / National Heritage Project Company.
Images of sculpture in situ credit: Maropeng and The Long March to Freedom / National Heritage Project Company.
Medium: Bronze, Height: 1.80m