Hear our voice!

Less than two weeks to go before the Earth Summit 2002 - and work on the Hear our Voice art installation is nearing completion.

What is Hear our voice?

Hear our voice has 3 main parts:

6,000 papier mache statues
Each one represents 1000s of messages and noises sent by supporters.
Corporate giant built from industrial waste
Symbolising the power that multinational corporations have over governments
Soundscape
Composed of the voices and sounds of the Earth - a call to action for world leaders

Image of
Putting the finishing touches to a statue

The sculpture and soundscape will be installed outside the Earth Summit conference centre during the talks and be present throughout.


Artist's impression of Hear our voice

More than 200 people from Johannesburg's townships are giving their time to create the biodegradable sculpture.

Many of them are unemployed and live in extreme poverty.

For some, working on the installation offers a chance of making a fresh start through gaining new skills.

[Volunteering] means we still feel productive. What we need here is development of skills so we can provide in our livelihoods and this is what the project does.

Through this project I feel people on the ground can make a difference. We do not need more talkshows.

Something tangible should come out of the Earth Summit. We need these people to deliver solutions...