Transforming inner-city places into welcoming people spaces

James Delaney has the creative vision and artistic touch to change landscapes. By Bridget Hilton-Barber

- Bridget Hilton-Barber

Meet James Delaney, contemporary artist and one of the champions of Jozi My Jozi's campaign called Babize Bonke (“let them all come” in isiZulu), which invites people to experience the revival of the city through the eyes of its creative citizens.

Delaney's studio in Victoria Yards in Lorentzville, on the eastern edge of Johannesburg's CBD, is a fabulous double-volume, light-filled space showcasing his artworks - metal sculptures, photographs, prints, lithography and charcoal drawings. It is guarded by his faithful golden labrador, Pablo, who has long been part of Delaney's artistic journey and qualifies as a Babize Bonke champ in his own right.

Delaney is a multidisciplinary artist whose focus at the moment is on sculpture and art as a tool for place-making. Standing at the intersection between art and landscape, his pieces highlight how the spaces we inhabit - be they city streets, wild spaces or man-made parks - affect and are affected by our presence.

In the past two decades, Delaney's work has been shown around the world, and he has won awards from Business and Arts South Africa and the South African Institute of Architects for his public art installations.