Heritage body blasts church’s fiery art
● The writing is on the wall for a Durban church which could face legal action for its controversial and eye-catching mural.
The mural on the boundary wall of the Manning Road Methodist Church has the words “Only 12 years left” alongside visuals of matches, flames and the Earth to highlight global warming.
It contravenes the provincial Heritage Act as the building was listed in 1986. KwaZuluNatal heritage agency Amafa has ordered the 100-year-old church to submit a rectification application with a proposal from a heritage specialist for the removal of the mural, which was made by a street artist, Ewok.
“Depending on the outcome of the heritage specialist’s report, the church could face legal action that could result in fines and reparation costs awarded against those concerned,” said Amafa’s head of the built environment department, Ros Devereaux.
“Prison terms have been handed down in some cases of contraventions of the heritage legislation.”
She said that at the very least the church should have approached Amafa for advice before painting the mural.
“A permit should have been obtained but in this instance it would not have been granted due to the damage such an action would cause.”
Church leader Reverend Lauren Matthew told the Sunday Times she did not know that the mural, which was painted in July, had contravened any laws until she received a notice from Amafa last week.
“I would love to meet with Amafa to sit down and talk to them about what we are doing and what our intentions are. I am OK with dealing with the legislation they have thrown at me. I don’t want to break the law. That is not the intention of the church.”
Matthew said the mural was painted to raise awareness about climate change.
“We wanted to do something incarnational. In other words, we wanted to put some kind of words and ideology into the community because the church is more than just a building. It’s a theology with flesh, bone and story, so we wanted to give that voice.”
Matthew has received mixed messages about the mural from the community.
“The most vocal ones are the ones that are incredibly negative. They see it as graffiti when it is street art.”
Co-founder of Save Our Berea, Cheryl Johnson, said the community organisation had received numerous complaints.
“We support campaigns on climate change as it is an important issue. We have nothing against the artist or the mural but that building is a protected building and the mural should have never been painted on it. The law has been broken and we want the mural removed and the wall restored to its previous condition.”