MADIBA IN OTHER WORDS (fringe photography exhibition, National English Literature Museum until Saturday):
Reviewed by Leon Muston
A HIDDEN gem on the fringe art scene, this photography exhibition isn’t listed in any of the official booking kits or souvenir programmes.
It’s a retrospective of Nelson Mandela’s life through photographs taken of his most important public moments and some more private ones too.
All the classic images are there – mug shots from the Rivonia Trial, Mandela with his hand raised in defiance as he leaves Robben Island, and of course that moment when he and Francois Pienaar raised the rugby world cup trophy aloft.
There are wedding photographs from when he married Winnie and ones of him in his trademark shirts doing the “Madiba shuffle”.
But it’s not only the photographs that make this a fascinating exhibition. There also numerous cartoons, particularly from Zapiro recalling famous historic moments such as Mandela’s meeting with Hendrik Verwoed’s widow and the 1994 elections.
There’s also a collection of international “I will return” postcards printed during the campaign to free Mandela and lots of artwork and letters from children illustrating what the former president means to them
Being the museum of English literature, many of the exhibitions are linked to specific books such as Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, or Zapiro’s annuals.
But there are a number of displays where no photographer is credited at all, and this is the one disappointment of an otherwise fascinating and enlightening exhibition.
Tags: art review, Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, photo exhibition, Robben Island, Winnie Mandela, Zapiro
