“Excuse me, but why do you wear a shirt like that?” 

 

“You must remember that I was in jail for 27 years. I want to feel freedom!”

 

Nelson Mandela as quoted by van Robbroeck (2014, p. 262).

 

 

This sculptural piece will represent a Madiba shirt. Nelson Mandela made a very deliberate and conscious decision to dress in a non-conformist manner. His trademark Madiba shirts were loose fitting and made from brightly patterned textiles. It can be argued that the formal business suit is perceived as a symbol of political/corporate power in the Global North. Mandela’s rejection of this power symbol in favour of something vibrant and unique can be seen as an aesthetic challenge of the Western ideal, and a demonstration of the Africanised-Decolonised imaginary. 

 

The TIMS’s Madiba shirt tries to capture similar sentiments by offering its audience the opportunity to reimagine the form and structure of the university through symbolically weaving the fabric of the shirt. By embracing a transformative Mandela stance, TIMS would like to challenge viewers to explore the radical alternatives that Africanisation and Decolonisation can offer. As the sculpture is intended to be an interactive piece, the audience will be encouraged to represent their reimaginings by weaving their own patterns, and completing the “fabric” of the shirt through drawing, marking, writing, or colouring.