Nelson Mandela the artist

Nelson Mandela is described by some as the greatest and most loved leader of the 20th century. He died in 2013 aged 95, and in his lifetime he spent 27 years incarcerated, five years as the President of South Africa and his last years establishing the Mandela Foundation which continues to work towards a just society for everyone. In his 85th year, he began to create artwork which raised money for different charities. Nelson Mandela’s art captures his struggle, his hope and his motivation. Simple lines and a limited palette are used expertly to show the pain felt by many, but the changes that he believed were to come. Instead of being sombre and tragic, the pieces are filled with joy and show the artist’s ability to see good in everything.

In 2001 Mandela created five line drawings of his own hands in different positions portraying the poignant stages of his life. This collection was named The Struggle Series. Each piece has its own title: Struggle, Imprisonment, Freedom, Unity and Future. A motivational message in Mandela’s handwriting forms the last part of the series. They are humble images which say so much in a simple way. They tell Mandela’s life story concisely and poetically.

Mandela produced symbolic art using his hand print in 2002. The most iconic is entitled The Hand of Africa. Mandela made a print of his right hand in black paint originally to show the life and love lines on his palm, but he noticed that the void left in the middle of the handprint was shaped like the continent of Africa. This incredible image is a powerful one. He made two other pieces with children’s handprints surrounding his, one in black, and the other using shades of brown. These encourage the viewer to look into the future for Africa, and consider the next generation.

Mandela spent 18 years of his imprisonment on Robben Island which was, at the time, a high-security jail for political prisoners. He returned for a visit in 2002, and in the following year created 20 colourful drawings using photographs as a reference. These images are of places that meant something to Mandela, they represent the struggle he and other prisoners felt, or the hope they clung to. My Robben Island Series 1 includes The Window - a view from his cell through bars and across to Table Mountain, The Cell – a peek into his cell from the hallway, The Harbour, The Church and The Lighthouse. The pieces are all simple line drawings with three or four colours used to fill in the spaces. They are haunting images because they seem lifeless, empty and inhuman but yet colourful and bright. There is a motivational message with the collection penned in Mandela’s own hand describing his belief that things would get better.

Reflections of Robben Island Series 2 is a collection of five works produced a few months later. They include The Guard Tower, Mandela’s Walk, The Ward, The Courtyard and The Tennis Court. Again they are simple line drawings with a very limited palette of colours, but they are confident and powerful pieces. Mandela found something positive in every area of the prison, they meant something to him. For example, the prison hospital was an area where inmates could mix with other prisoners and share ideas or discuss thoughts, so he believed The Ward had some joy in it.

All of these work of art by Mandela had a limited number of lithographs produced, each numbered and signed, and these were sold to raise money for charities.