That R450k 'Mandela corpse' painting & other controversial Madiba art

Although former president Jacob Zuma might come to mind when controversial artworks of South African leaders are mentioned, late statesman Nelson Mandela has also seen his fair share of provocative depictions.

Here are three artists who have caused a public outcry with their Madiba works:

YIULL DAMASO

This Joburg-based artist made headlines earlier this week when his 2010 Mandela painting, The Night Watch!, sold for R450,000. Business Insider reported this is almost double the highest price his work has ever achieved. The buyer has chosen to stay anonymous.

The Night Watch!, based on the Dutch artist Rembrandt’s 1642 painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp, depicts Mandela’s corpse being autopsied by the late child Aids activist Nkosi Johnson. Among those in the background are prominent South Africans Desmond Tutu, Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, Cyril Ramaphosa, FW de Klerk and Helen Zille.

At the time the painting was created Mandela’s health was failing making a depiction of him being dissected a sensitive matter.  

Damaso had done a series of portraits of Mandela but this one had the ANC up in arms. At the time, the Mail & Guardian quoted senior party spokesperson Jackson Mthembu as saying: “It is in bad taste, disrespectful and it is an insult and an affront to values of our society.”

The storm around the painting made international news and Damaso received several death threats.

AYANDA MABULU

Ayanda Mabulu is known for his shocking paintings using sex and nudity to criticise politicians. One of his works shows Zuma with exposed genitalia, licking Atul Gupta's backside and another him raping Mandela.

In his 2010, painting Better Poor Than a Rich Puppet, Mandela is seen in a recreation of the last supper with a naked Zuma and Tutu.

Mabulu caused a stir with his most recent work, a swastika flag with a superimposed picture of Mandela doing the Nazi salute and the words “Unmasked piece of Shit".  According to the artist, the work expresses the “depth of Madiba's betrayal”. 

Mabulu took it upon himself to display it at the FNB Joburg Art Fair in Sandton in September. Fair director Mandla Sibeko said “the ambush performance was not part of the scheduled programme of events".

News24 reported that Mabulu claimed that the furore this caused led to two men following him after a radio interview, causing him to crash into another car.

ZAPIRO

Jonathan Shapiro, known as Zapiro, is renowned for his powerful no-holds-barred political cartoons. Not even the revered Madiba has escaped his pen.

In 2013, he released several cartoons that referred to Mandela's impending death. One shows a dying Madiba holding South Africa’s hand. He was criticised for being culturally insensitive by Mandela's grandchild.

Other works depicted Mandela's family fighting over his legacy. Zapiro explains on his website that one such piece was intended to lampoon “undignified money-making ventures bearing the Mandela name” as his death grew close. These cartoons upset many people.

• Additional reporting by staff reporter.