19 December 2008
	ART - 3 MUST SEE: THAMI MNYELE

Visitors to Alexandra-born artist Thami Mnyele's retrospective exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery are introduced to the artist - murdered by the SA Defence Force in 1985 - by a larger-than-life photograph. Fitting really. "Thami has a towering reputation in political and exile circles," offered artist Judy Seidman in a recent interview. A rare display of Mnyele's acute pencil drawings reveals why. His legacy also looms large over the activities of the Medu Art Ensemble, an agitprop group of cultural workers living in exile in 1980s Botswana. WHERE At the Johannesburg Art Gallery, King George Street, Joubert Park, Johannesburg, until March 31. Tel: (011) 725-3130 The poster unit, which included Mnyele and Seidman, crafted memorable posters that, at their best, soared far above the clenched-fist cliché.