Mandela anger at London art exhibition

A London art gallery has incurred the wrath of Nelson Mandela after launching an exhibition of prison sketches purportedly made by the former president of South Africa - but which he says are nothing to do with him.
 
The show, entitled 'Mandela at 91', features lithographs made in collaboration with artist Varenka Paschke featuring scenes of the notorious Robben Island jail and the cell where he spent many of his 27 years in prison during the apartheid era.
 
The row relates to whether or not the works on display at the gallery are official reproductions that were actually signed by Mandela.
 
Mandela, who turned 91 on Saturday, says he "strongly disassociates himself" from the show while his lawyers have asked the gallery to "desist immediately", but say they have received no reply.
 
Bally Chuene, Mandela's legal representative, said: "They are being very opportunistic. The purported artwork does not have Mandela's blessing."
 
The original signed works were bought by celebrities in 2002 and 2003, and the proceeds went to Mandela's charities for homeless children and Aids victims. But the African leader's lawyers claimed last year that unauthorised reproductions with false signatures were being sold and it is these images that the gallery is displaying.
 
However, Anna Hunter, managing director of the Belgravia Gallery, says she personally witnessed Mandela signing the works in 2002, and gave a speech alongside him when he launched them in South Africa. The gallery's website is running film footage of Mandela, wearing a neck brace, signing a number of images.
 
Hunter also claims to have spent 19 months investigating the works' provenance, and consulted Mandela's art teacher, his academic printer and a forensic handwriting expert, who verified the signatures as genuine. The exhibition is due to run at the gallery until the end of July. ·