Yiull Dabasco’s new painting has created a South African uproar!

Johannesburg-based artist Yiull Damasco’s painting depicting former South African president, Nelson Mandela, as a corpse in Damasco’s modern version of Rembrandt’s “The Anatomy Lesson”, has outraged the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s ruling party, and family members.

Damasco is completing the painting in Hyde Park Mall, Johannesburg and several complaints were received by the store management, is reported by the Mail & Guardian and the Huffington Post. Apparently the Mail and Guardian has also received a lot of criticism for displaying the painting on their first page.

As News24 reported, the artist wrote on his website:

Mandela “is just a man, the same as those viewing him, the same as you and I. Mr. Mandela made decisions in his life that enabled people to see him as they do. The collection of viewers [is] in a position in their lives to make decisions that will enable people to see them in a similar manner.”

Although Damasco has now been accused of witchcraft and racism, I believe that his biggest trespass was to remind South Africans that the iconic Mandela is not in fact immortal, as most of them would like to believe! Damasco has reminded us not only of Mandela’s immortality, but also of our own frailty. Mandela who will be 92 on July 18 is in fact just a man. It will be a very sad day when this great man dies and most South Africans would not like to even think about it. Let us hope he still has a lot of good years ahead!