Traffic came to a standstill on Tuesday morning as a herd of strange and beautifully decorated cows took to the streets of Saxonwold in Johannesburg.
The world-famous CowParade has come to town to raise much-needed funds for sick children.
But animal lovers need not worry, these are not real-life cows. CowParade is a collection of life-size, fibreglass cows decorated by artists, celebrities and members of the public.
The bevy of bovine beauties have already stampeded through 20 major cities, including New York, Chicago, London, Tokyo and Auckland.
Famous artists such as Peter Max, Patrick Hughes and David Lynch have all painted a cow.
South African artists, crafters, designers and art students now have the chance, either individually or as a group, to enter designs for the cows.
Successful applicants will be commissioned to create their design on a cow. Artists will be paid R10 000 for each design commissioned and applied to a finished cow.
Several South African cows have so far been decorated, and South Africow — The Greatest, sporting the South African flag; Uthingo Lwenkosane (Rainbow Cow-Wow), depicting three portraits that show different race groups; and Peace Cow, dressed as the Dove of Peace, were on show on Tuesday.
More cows will be painted countrywide between July and August and will be unveiled in Johannesburg and Durban in September and in Cape Town over the festive season.
The cows have already become sought-after collectors’ items throughout the world. Elton John, Oprah, the Queen of Jordan and Lord Hesseltine all have their own painted cows. But the bovine beauties come with a hefty price tag and the highest-priced cow to date fetched $145 000 at a recent Sotheby’s auction.
An exhibition of locally painted cows will travel around the country until March 2005 and all monies raised from the sales will go to Children’s Hematology Oncology Clinics. — Sapa