The Independent - 26 Nov 2003
By Sarah Cassidy
NELSON MANDELA offered further insight into his years of incarceration on
Robben Island when his latest artwork was unveiled yesterday in a sale that is
intended to raise more than £5m for charity.
The sketches by the former South African president are to be sold by a London
gallery to raise money for his charitable foundation, the Nelson Mandela Trust,
which helps orphans and HIV sufferers in his country.
In handwritten comments to accompany his pictures, the 85-year-old Nobel peace
prizewinner said that he now remembered the "stark hospital wards" of
the notorious prison "with fondness", so his sketch was "filled
with joyous colour".
Mr Mandela spent 17 years in the apartheid regime's maximum-security prison
before being moved to a jail on the mainland. The collection of five simple charcoal
and pastel lithographs includes The Ward, showing the hospital that served as
the focal point for prisoners.
There are 350 limited editions of each sketch, costing between £2,950
and £3,950 a picture. Another depicts curled barbed wire in front of a bright
orange watchtower and the bare courtyard where prisoners were allowed to play
tennis at the notorious prison.
He described the hospital as "the vital link between us and the rest of
the world" where news of the outside world trickled through to inmates. He
added: "Today I remember the stark hospital wards with fondness. These memories,
like this sketch, are filled with joyous colours."
Mr Mandela wrote about playing tennis in the jail: "It was a strange sensation
enjoying such civilised hobbies in such an uncivilised place."
Anna Hunter, owner of the Belgravia Gallery, which is exhibiting the pictures,
said: "I think what marks him out is that he's able to see symbols of tyranny
and oppression in a positive light. He saw it at the time and he sees it now."
She said the imposing Guard Tower was likely to prove the most popular. "It's
orange and very striking," she said. "It's a wonderful image."
Richard Fitzwilliams, an art critic, said Mr Mandela's choice of vibrant and
warm colours reflected his message of hope.
"The use of bright colour is symbolic," he said. "The colours
could have been far grimmer than they are. Most people would consider that experience
[incarceration for 17 years] grim and would want to forget it. For Mandela, it
was a microcosm of the wider struggle against apartheid in South Africa."
Situated eight miles off the coast of Cape Town, Robben Island served as a
prison for black opposition figures, union organisers and militant activists.
Mr Mandela was released in 1990 and was elected President in South Africa's first
multiracial elections in 1994. He shared the 1993 Nobel peace prize for his campaign
to end white rule.
The new sketches follow the release of Mr Mandela's first series last year,
which included The Cell and The Lighthouse.
