Gain some perspective at the Mandela Capture Site

TThe sculpture, the centrepiece of a new memorial site – the Nelson Mandela Capture Site – was unveiled by South African President, Jacob Zuma during the site's official inauguration on 5 August 2012.

The effect of Marco Cianfanelli's image is at once monumental and transient. "The 50 columns represent the 50 years since his capture, but they also suggest the idea of many making the whole; of solidarity. It points to an irony, as the political act of Mandela's incarceration cemented his status as an icon of struggle, which helped ferment the groundswell of resistance, solidarity and uprising, bringing about political change and democracy."

The sculpture both affects and is affected by the surrounding landscape, visually shifting throughout the day as the light and atmosphere behind and around it change. Designed by artist Marco Cianfanelli (of Apartheid Museum fame) with the help of architect Jeremy Rose, the sculpture creates something of an optical illusion. From a distance, the 50 steel poles of varying heights simply look like a random collection of poles, but as you approach to within 35m of the sculpture, they merge to form an image of Mandela’s face.

Mandela’s arrest that day was not only the start of a long, dark period in the liberation struggle, but also set Mandela on the path to becoming the world’s most famous political prisoner, and ultimately the first president of a democratic South Africa.