Mandela ‘corpse’ painting evokes angry response in Jo’burg mall
By ANIFriday, July 9, 2010
JOHANNESBURG - A painting depicting Nelson Mandela as a corpse undergoing an autopsy is causing a stir in a Johannesburg shopping center.
The painting is a modern take of a 17th century Rembrandt painting called “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tripp” which depicts an autopsy being undertaken in front of a group of doctors.
In artist Yiull Damaso’s version, former president Mandela is the cadaver with late Aids orphan Nkosi Johnson performing the autopsy.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and politicians FW de Klerk, Jacob Zuma, Cyril Ramaphosa, Trevor Manuel, Thabo Mbeki and Helen Zille look on.
This week the Hyde Park shopping centre, where the painting is being housed, received complaints about the work, News 24 reports.
Damaso said he was called into the shop because a person wanted to speak to him on the phone.
“The person on the phone told me that she was a friend of one of Mandela’s daughters and that the daughter was very upset about the painting. I was told that they had recently had a death in the family and that they are still very bereaved”.
The Hyde Park shopping centre’s marketing manager Nicola van Kan told the newspaper: “We feel it is a controversial piece… but we support freedom of expression and art.” (ANI)
