Chance discovery leads to creation

When Bedfordview resident Mr Carlo Kaminski was asked to take photographs of an old building in Hillbrow, he had no idea he would stumble upon a historic gem.

Mr Kaminski said when he walked into one of the flats on the eighth and last floor of the building, where tenants had been evicted, he decided to take photos from a different angle.

“I walked into the bathroom so I could take pictures from the window. As I turned around, I saw a beautiful poster of Nelson Mandela on the wall. It intrigued me and I knew it needed to be preserved.

“I brought it home and thought of ways to transform it, as it was badly warped,” he said.

To preserve the image, Mr Kaminski created a collage, mounted on a double chip board and used over 10 000 glass beads and pins.

The art piece tells the story of Madiba’s life and is titled ‘From Prisoner to President’.

“A 1994, cloth South African flag was used as a backdrop to the collage, on top of which beads and pins were embedded into the overall image. The beads and pins are meant to symbolise Madiba’s vision of a rainbow nation and his dream to unite the country,” said Mr Kaminski.

To reinforce the piece, Mr Kaminski used iron bars which he said represent the time Madiba spent on Robben Island. The piece also has barbed wire, which symbolises his hardships in fighting against Apartheid.

To emphasise Mandela’s oppression, he also used bolts to tighten the portrait to the board.

Upon doing his research, Mr Kaminski said he found that the photo was taken two days after Mandela was released from prison.

“I discovered one image, which matched the one on the poster – apparently taken while addressing a press conference on February 13, 1990, at his home in Vilakazi Street, Orlando, in Soweto.

“I then established that, even though the photo was taken four years before he became President, it was still used for the 1994 poster. This told me the poster was not produced in South Africa, as a more recent photograph, from 1994, would have been used if the poster was produced locally.

“I believe the photograph itself was not taken by a South African journalist. Remember, after 1994 there was an influx of people from other African countries, most of whom lived in Hillbrow so it’s possible that it could have come from another state after it was produced to celebrate Mandela’s election,” said Mr Kaminski.

He urged anyone with information about the photographer to contact him. This poster is historical and he would like to meet the person who took the photo.

He said a lot of time and passion went into creating the piece, which holds historical and sentimental value to him and his wife, Mrs Dana.

Mr Kaminski said celebrating this year’s installment of Mandela Day on July 18 will be an honour, knowing he has done something to help preserve Mandela’s legacy.