Service delivery uprising - SOLD
Richard Mudariki (b 1985)
Service delivery uprising - 2013
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 60 cm
Signed and dated bottom right
Sold - 2014
Despite 20 years of democracy, the struggle for a better life for all South Africans continues. It has, however, become a struggle for the delivery of public services, against the leaders put in power by the people.
South Africa is ranked one of the most unequal societies in the world, with the majority of its citizens living in poverty, although this inequality is not entirely based on race. Over the past few years, there have been never-ending demonstrations in most poverty-stricken communities, as residents demand better service delivery. The painting is a reference to one of these demonstrations; a young man, surrounded by toyi-toyi’ing protestors, symbolically carries a set of defunct services – reminiscent of the body of Hector Pieterson killed during the 1976 Soweto Uprising. Women and children trapped in informal settlements are hardest hit by this lack of service delivery – a luta continua – only this time it’s a struggle for their standard of living which is being degraded by an unresponsive government.