In the spirit of Easter, holidaymakers, tourists and general beachgoers were met with a creative depiction of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion when they visited Muizenberg Beach at the weekend.
Local artist, Lanele Xaba (25) is known as “John English”. He hails from Durban and has been residing in the Strand area since 2022. For the past two years, the newly-wedded sculptor has been showcasing his art across Cape Town’s beaches. He frequents Fish Hoek, Gordon’s Bay, Blaauwberg, Muizenberg and other popular Cape Town beachfronts.
The multi-talented man uses his hands to create art pieces. He does this by utilizing a range of materials including ice, wood, sand, clay and more.
His dream is to showcase his work on movie sets.
“I want to open a construction company where I work on movie sets. I want to sculpt things on the movie sets, maybe I will make the fake rocks, or maybe the pathway where people walk, or the mountains,” Xaba elaborated.
As for what inspired his latest artwork?
“I’ve decided to make the sculpture of Jesus Christ, because we were approaching Easter. I just thought that since it is His month I can just make something in His honour. I also love creating things that are inspired by Jesus because without Him, I cannot even have the vision of making anything. And without Him I cannot even live,” said an emotional Xaba.
