Concord Access Rental (CAR), the mobile elevated work platform rental company in Imperial’s Concord group, has helped top international and local street artists reach new heights in Johannesburg, by supplying two Genie boom lifts to the internationally-followed I ART JOBURG mural project.

“I ART JOBURG is an original and impressive project, and it has been a wonderful opportunity for us to be involved. Finding lifting solutions is our passion, and giving such dedicated artists a ‘platform’ like this was something new and exciting for us,” said Dean Jones, GAR operations director.

As part of the project, which is sponsored by adidas Originals and curated by /A WORD OF ART with the help of the Johannesburg Development Agency, five world-renowned street artists painted eight giant murals as an ode to the energy of “Jozi”. The murals were painted in the Maboneng Precinct in downtown Johannesburg during the month of September and will remain indefinitely. The I ART JOBURG exhibition, which is on display in AREA3, will be up for October and November, where after the exhibition moves to Cape Town.

“Painting large-scale murals is not at all easy. Organisation and access are key. Without big cranes, we cannot paint big walls, so we are very grateful for Concord’s support,” said Ricky-Lee Gordon, co-founder of /A WORD OF ART.

Ricky approached Concord Access Rental in August 2012, and asked Dean to recommend the lifting machines he thought would be most appropriate and useful. Site meetings between the two began at the beginning of September.

“The biggest challenge in the streets of Joburg is that, because of the need for steep water runoff, the road surfaces are relatively uneven,” said Dean. Concord’s proposed solution was that the artists use large machines with extensive reach, and base them in suitably strong and level areas that were not necessarily adjacent to the walls. “Essentially, we ‘overspecced’ the machines so that we could find a workable ground base,” said Dean.

This practical solution worked for the artists, and the project could begin. /A WORD OF ART has hired two Genie boom lifts from Concord – the Genie Z 135 and the Genie Z 60 – for the duration of the project.

The slightly larger Genie Z 135 features four-wheel steer – with front-wheel, rear-wheel, crab- and coordinated- steer options available to provide additional manoeuvrability. Its telescoping Jib-Extend™ jib extends from 3,66m to 6,10m and provides a 110˚ vertical range of motion.

The rugged Genie Z 60 has an articulating boom with a 1,83m jib for added manoeuvrability to access hard-to-reach areas. It has a tight-turn radius and zero tailswing, providing manoeuvrability in confined work areas, which was critical for allowing traffic to continue to flow while the units operated on the city’s streets.

The Genie engine-powered articulating Z™ booms provide great lifting versatility with a combination of up, out and over positioning capabilities.

Ricky described Concord’s range and service, as well as the Genie machines themselves, as “awesome”. “We hope Concord can support us in creating more murals in the future. Johannesburg deserves more colour,” he said.

Presented by adidas Originals, the I ART JOBURG project has attracted international attention and was documented by renowned international street culture photographer Martha Cooper. “By creating these murals in a big city such as Joburg, we created art for the people and made art more accessible,” said Ricky.

With a product range that includes scissor lifts, articulated and telescopic boom lifts and low-level access equipment, Concord Access Rental is a one-stop access equipment rental shop specialising in the rental and service of its equipment. It also offers training for clients’ operators to ensure maximum productivity.