It starts with the cell. Measuring 2.4 by 2.1 metres,
with nothing but a bench and a bucket inside, this recreated jail is the first
item in the exhibition “Nelson Mandela: From Prisoner to President”, which is
currently on tour internationally.
Shown in Paris, France, in June and July, the
exposition of Mandela’s extraordinary life will also be seen in countries such
as Peru and Ecuador this year. At each stop, visitors will get to experience for
a few seconds the tiny space where Mandela spent 18 of the 27 years in
captivity. They will find themselves wondering how he survived and could
forgive.
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| Posters shown in the exhibition. |
While the cell on its own is enough to make a lasting
impression, the other items on display – ranging from film footage to early
posters calling for Mandela’s liberation – combine to take viewers on an exceptional and emotional journey.
This second section begins with Mandela's birth on 18 July 1918 in the modest village of
Mvezo, and follows his fight against South Africa’s apartheid regime as a young man, his long
incarceration, his ultimate release and his election to the presidency.
“The main interest of this exhibition is that its
progressive presentation shows the multiple dimensions of Nelson Mandela’s
life, and reveals the strength and greatness of the man, without hesitating to
recognize his weaknesses,” said Christopher Till, director of South Africa’s
Apartheid Museum, which curated the display.
Organized according to six themes, the show presents “the
man, the comrade, the leader, the prisoner, the negotiator and the statesman”. Throughout,
visitors are impressed by this singular story of strength, grace and
reconciliation.
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| Visitors view the exhibition in France. |
But many of the images will also cause pain and anger,
especially those showing students being brutally beaten by the security forces,
or footage of the remains of an “informant” who has been killed in the most
gruesome fashion. The viciousness of
apartheid comes through clearly in the exhibition, and against such a
background, Mandela’s role as a unifying force is even more remarkable.
“With this exposition, one can better appreciate the
reasons why Nelson Mandela embodies victory over oppression,” said French
president Francois Hollande in a foreword to the show’s catalogue. “A visionary
statesman, he has never ceased all through his life to prefer dialogue to
confrontation, reconciliation to the demagogic exploitation of hatred
accumulated in the past.”
Hollande also summed up the feelings generated by Mandela’s
life and work, as outlined in the exhibition, when he declared that: in a world threatened by ignorance, this man’s
example should serve as an inspiration for all. - A.M.
