Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 22, 2018

Nelson Mandela: anti-apartheid revolutionary, philanthropist and advocator of peace. As the first president of South Africa, he was a man brimful of ideas of equality and collective betterment. Inspired by the literary works of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, he strived to create a classless society, and succeeded in dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalised racism. If there is one thing Mandela taught us all, it is to always fight for that in which you believe — as for the rest, let the chips fall where they may.

Mandela My Life: The Official Exhibition is a world-class exhibition opening in Melbourne, Australia before heading off on a five-year worldwide tour from 2019. The exhibition will commemorate, illuminate and share Mandela’s living legacy with the world.

With over 200 artefacts from The Nelson Mandela Foundation and Mandela’s private collection, this official exhibition has been curated across 10 galleries in the Touring Hall at the prestigious Melbourne Museum, guiding visitors through an emotive journey that is multi-sensory, with collections that are rich and interactive.

Through a revolutionary cinematic experience, Gallery 1 invites visitors to feel the power and emotion of one of the most dramatic and significant moments of Mandela’s life — the moment he put apartheid on trial. The original sound recording of Mandela’s Rivonia Trial speech in 1964 can be heard, accompanied by a powerful new film piece placing visitors in the courtroom as he delivers his speech.

Moving swiftly on to Gallery 2, visitors will explore Mandela’s family and journey from child to man through a spectacular seven-metre-long scenic projection wall of animations and landscapes. Elements of Mandela’s childhood will be brought to life in an audio-visual piece using his own words and images of his childhood homes in the Transkei to animate some of the most formative events of his young life.

Gallery 3 examines how and why certain influences shaped a young Mandela, with original objects, film and documents on display. Personal items include photographs of Mandela with his first wife Evelyn and their children, as well as his second marriage to Winnie. This gallery also examines a history of apartheid and the systems of ‘apartness’ that left a lasting impression on Mandela and motivated his political activism.

Catch a glimpse into Mandela’s daily life and activities during his period of underground operations, in Gallery 4. The earliest known film footage of Mandela, during a break in the Treason Trial, will be on display. Mandela was one of 156 defendants, along with members of all other anti-apartheid movements, in a trial that was designed to dismantle the People’s Congress Alliance and attack the Freedom Charter.

Comprised of small cell-like rooms based on Mandela’s time in prison Gallery 5 explores aspects of Mandela’s life while he served time. Letters between Mandela and his family and audio of Mandela personally recounting his experiences provide an insight into the emotional impact of his long imprisonment. Moreover, this gallery will feature an exclusive interview with Mandela’s last prison guard.

Heading into Gallery 6, visitors will be able to see and hear the events of Mandela’s first day of freedom on Feb 11, 1990, when he was released from prison. A wall of film, images and sound will show the progression of Mandela from that first day, to his election and inauguration as South Africa’s first democratically elected president.

Against a backdrop of two images of Mandela as a president who loved to meet people Gallery 7 will present the landmark years of Mandela’s presidency through film, photographs and objects. His original appointments diary from 1997 will be displayed, along with mementos of his inauguration in 1994. Film will illustrate Mandela’s strategic approach to governing a country going through tempestuous change, and bringing South Africa back onto the international stage.

At the centre of Gallery 8 are the original chairs from Mandela’s post presidential office at his foundation in Johannesburg, in which he met and talked with world leaders, celebrities and people who sought him out during his retirement. A selection of some of Mandela’s favourite original ‘Madiba Shirts’, the colourful patterned shirts he became famous for wearing, will also be on display – as well as the boxing glove signed and gifted by Muhammad Ali to Mandela, who was an avid boxing fan and met Ali several times after 1990.

Gallery 9 will feature 95 heartfelt messages to Mandela from around the world, recorded in the ten days of mourning after his death, with each message representing a year of his life.

Visitors will be able to listen to these while watching film footage of Mandela’s final journey from Johannesburg to his ancestral home in Qunu in the Transkei, in December 2013.

In the Gallery 10, 16 original artworks by acclaimed South African artist, John Meyer, will be displayed. Each painting depicts an event or theme of Mandela’s life as imagined by the artist, from his rural boyhood in Qunu, through his years as a dedicated lawyer Johannesburg of the 1950s to the hardships of jail and his achievements as president of South Africa and a global leader.

Mandela My Life: The Official Exhibition goes on until March 3 at the Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton, Victoria, Australia. Opening hours are from 10am to 5pm, daily, with an admission fee of A$15 (RM45) per adult. Visit www.mandelatheexhibition.com to learn more.

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