London Metro -
26 November 2003
By Steph Condron
STARK symbols of oppression, the latest artworks by Nelson Mandela offer
a fascinating glimpse into his incarceration on Robben Island.
Despite the bleak subject matter, the former South African president uses bright
colours to depict how courage overcame adversity. Accompanying each picture are
hand-written notes by Mr Mandela.
He describes the hospital as a vital link with the rest of the world, where
news trickled through to inmates.
'Today I remember the stark hospital wards with fondness,' he adds. 'These
memories, like this sketch, are filled with joyous colours.'
Playing tennis in jail was 'a strange sensation, enjoying such civilised hobbies
in such an uncivilised place'.
Mr Mandela, now in his 80s, spent 17 years in the apartheid regime's maximum
security prison.
Proceeds from print sales, at London's Belgravia Gallery, will help HIV and
children's charities in South Africa.
