To mark Nelson Mandela centenary, Melrose Gallery has opened an exhibition looking at Madiba’s legacy and celebrating this most iconic man.
The exhibition, curated by Zanele Mashumi, includes new and older works created by established and emerging artists who remain inspired by Mr Mandela and the principals for which he stood.
The artworks include painting, sculpture, photography, cartoon illustration, tapestry and mixed media.
Mashumi says, “The Mandela 100 (exhibition) is a celebration about Mandela, his life and what he has done for the country. We tried putting the different elements of how everybody knows Mandela through his struggle, through the fact that he believed in education for children.”
The exhibition explores the different journeys Mandela had to go through in order to be the person he is remembered as, and how the artists perceived Mandela and his role.
Celebrated sculpture and artist, Professor Pitika Ntuli says, “I had a lot of time to spend with Madiba, who said he had a dream of a reconciled nation, a nation where everybody is going to feel happy and free.”
“He asked me, ‘How are you as a sculpture are going to remember me?’ I said I will make one huge monument to celebrate issues of reconciliation,” adds Ntuli.
The exhibition is open to the public at the Melrose Gallery in Melrose Arch and runs from July 11, 2018.
