Can you think of any consumer electric products which are able to make a strong political statement?…..no me neither- and that’s the amazing thing about this unique radio!
Dating to the 1980s or early 1990s this radio was handmade by an unknown street artisan from South Africa. While the wirework technique is famous across the country (and I’ve seen other SA radios encased in generic wirework designs), in this particular instance the maker has managed to raise an otherwise simple utilitarian item to the status of genuine political art. Barbed wire has been used here to great effect to represent Nelson Mandela’s time in prison on Robben Island and there is something striking about the way the radio parts (themselves a symbol of public speech) are trapped within the wire cage.
This item is primitive, crude, hand made and yet a very powerful piece of art. I’d love to be able to say the barbed wire was taken from Robben Island itself, but sadly as the previous owner who brought it back from South Africa died without telling their friend (who sold it to me), we’ll never really know. Either way this could sit in a museum with ease.
In original as-found untouched condition there are a few holes in the speaker cone where the barbed wire has pierced it (yes maybe not the best two things to next to each other!) but the radio is working fine.
Dimensions: 23cm wide x 11cm deep x 31cm high.
