Mini Meltdown | Pt. 2
In early May 2020, the Mini Cooper belonging to local residents in Cape Town’s suburb of Mouille Point was set alight. The vandalism was a culmination of many attempts to stop owners, Peter and Lesley Wagenaar, from providing food to homeless and vulnerable people during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rather than deterring the Wagenaars (who continued to provide daily home cooked meals, made with love), the Mini Meltdown became a beacon of love, light and hope that communities can work together in a crisis. Instead of stopping people from giving, it inspired others who were similarly called to provide aid for those less fortunate through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Love always wins.
I was commissioned to transform the exterior of the Mini into an artwork reflective of this message.
When coming up with the idea for the visuals, we agreed that it would be great to incorporate a portrait of someone in the community who is also representative of this idea. Peter & Lesley do a lot of work with Streetscapes, and through them we found Auntie TT, who was happy to be our muse and feature on the hood of the car. As someone who has also faced a lot of challenges, she is also a symbol for how love is a force that exists beyond the restrictions & conditions society often tries to make us conform to.
In its new life, the car now functions as a mobile artwork; a medium for conflict resolution and a vehicle to raise funds for social welfare enhancing projects.