Sergio-Albio González (Cuban, born 1931)
Michael Kahn (South African, born 1948)
Thamsanqa (Thami) Mnyele (South African, 1948-1985)
Free Mandela!
INV-2440
Sergio-Albio González (Cuban, born 1931)
Michael Kahn (South African, born 1948)
Thamsanqa (Thami) Mnyele (South African, 1948-1985)1980
Medu Art Ensembleprint
Date
1980
Medium
Offset lithograph in black and red on white wove paper
Dimensions
45.8 × 35.5 cm (18 1/16 × 14 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Artworkers Retirement Society
Behind the red text calling for Nelson Mandela’s freedom is a photograph of Table Bay. This bay surrounds South Africa’s infamous Robben Island penitentiary, where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison. The apartheid government so feared Mandela’s influence that they made it illegal to photograph him or publish his image. From 1964 to 1986 no pictures of Mandela were allowed to circulate, and few people knew what he looked like. Activists grew creative in designing material to support his release; Medu member Michael Kahn took the photograph of Table Bay expressly for this poster.