Nelson Mandela

Exterior  of  South African Embassy

9 feet height 

3051 Massachusetts Avenue, NW 

Sculptor Jean Doyle  (2013)

Public transit access; N2 or N4 Metrobus, Nearest Metro station: Dupont Circle

Unveiled on September 21, 2013

Visual Description

Dressed in the suit and tie he was wearing when released from Victor Verster prison on February 11, 1990, the figure of Nelson Mandela walks forward, his right hand raised in a fist of solidarity, which raises the shape of his suit jacket.   In more or less ‘controposto’ configuration, his left foot is placed on the ground, just before his raised right foot. His left handfoot hangs by his side. He stands on a circular plinth atop of a stone pedestal.

Historical Background

This is a replica of the “Long Walk to Freedom” statue of Nelson Mandela outside of Groot Drakenstein Prison, the former Victor Verster Prison, the low security facility, where Mandela spent the final three years of his 27 year old incarceration period. He was previously imprisioned on Robben Island and then at Pollsmoor Prison, where he contracted a serious respiratory illness.   Mandela, the public face of the South African liberation movement and of the anti-apartheid movement, was imprisoned as a political prisoner for 27 years, before negotiations between the South African Apartheid regime and the African National Congress led to his release in 1990. Three years later, Mandela became the first elected president of a democratic multiracial South Africa.

The South African Apartheid government had prevented Mandela’s photograph from being circulated during the time of his imprisonment: his appearance, as an elderly man, thus came rather as a shock to millions of his supporters within South Africa and around the world.   Many were quickly reassured however, by his erect stance and confident gait as he walked out of the prison, quickly seizing command of the momentcontext. 

In the film and photographs of the release event, Nelson Mandela was shown marching forward with his wife Winnie Mandela. The couple however soon became estranged and Winnie was largely discredited in the eyes of many former supporters. Perhaps for this reason, the statue shows Nelson walking forth on his own.

The original “Long Walk to Freedom” sculpture at Groot Drakenstein, by white sculptor Jean Doyle, is regularly visited by well wishers who seek to see the site where Mandela exited his long imprisonment.  (Nelson Mandela unveiled the statue in November 2008, five years before his death. ) This replica was placed in front of the South African Embassy in 2013 after Mandela’s death. The location in front of the South African Embassy was a very familiar one to many activists, as many hundreds had protested in front of the Embassy during the Apartheid years, especially during 1984-85.

In Washington DC, by coincidence or design, Mandela, his right fist upright, more or less faces a famous statue across the street, in front of the British Embassy,  of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, flashing his famous “V” for Victory sign with two fingers.  The contrast might be viewed as a structural opposition between Churchill, as a prominent exponent of imperialism and colonialism (most notably British rule in India) and one of the world’s most famous anti-colonial figures, Nelson Mandela. South African Aambassador Ebrahim Rasool remarked that to his eyes, Churchill was holding up scissors, and Mandela's fist was like a rock. "As you know, rock beats scissors," he remarked.

Interpretive Notes

The statue, modeled on photographs, is generally considered a capable likeness, but the work is sometimes seen as rather kitschy by critics. For many, the figure’s visage lacks the gravitas, charisma and deep dignity which “Madiba” (as Mandela was affectionately) radiated.

Prompts for closer looking

–What is the overall effect of the composition, including the ‘contraposto’ pose and the raised first, as you look up at the statue? You may wish in particular to reflect on the presence of a revolutionary gesture in this very official Washington DC neighborhood, on “Embassy Row”, just down the block from the Vice President’s official residence.

–Compare the visual representations of Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill, more or less facing one another across the street. What interesting differences to do you notice? 

Creative Suggestions

-Compose or perhaps act out a dialogue between Mandela and Churchill: what might they say to one another, about struggle, colonialism and revolution, as they in effect face off against one another across Massachusetts Avenue?

Learning Resources: 

Nelson Mandela Foundation, including timeline of imprisonment:

https://www.nelsonmandela.org/trials-and-prison-chronology

On Mandela’s release ;

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240207-in-history-nelson-mandela-walks-out-of-prison-a-free-man

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Nelson_Mandela_(Washington,_D.C.)

https://livingnewdeal.org/sites/langston-terrace-dwellings-olney-frieze-washington-dc/