SPOKEN STATE - SOUTH AFRICA
I Am Prepared to Die (Rivonia Trial Statement)
Nelson Mandela · 1964 & 1990
The Work
MEDIUM
Acrylic on Dibond aluminium
DIMENSIONS
915 × 610 mm (2:3 ratio)
COLOURS
Ivory Black, Cadmium Yellow (Hue), Sap Green, Cadmium Red (Hue), Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue
SPEECH
I Am Prepared to Die (Rivonia Trial Statement), 1964
SPEAKER
Nelson Mandela
LOCATION
Palace of Justice, Pretoria
About the flag
The South African flag — six colours in a unique Y-shaped design: black, yellow and green (ANC), red, white and blue (former Boer and British flags), ratio 2:3
Process
Each Spoken State work begins with the speech. The text is transcribed, counted, and mapped to the geometry of the flag — word by word, colour field by colour field — before a single brushstroke is made.
1. The Aluminium Dibond is sized to the width of McGinty’s 30 year old T Square. The surface is lightly sanded, primed and 4 coats of gesso with a final two coats of Titanium White to create the the surface on which to work. The Surface becomes a drawing board.
2. The Indian flag presents a unique compositional challenge: the Ashoka Chakra at the centre of the white stripe disrupts the simple tricolour geometry and requires text to flow around and through it.
3. The 24 spokes of the Chakra were treated as a compositional anchor — the most concentrated area of text, where the speech's most urgent words are gathered.
4. Saffron, white, and green required separate text-density calibration. The Chakra in navy blue required the finest brushwork in the series.
Historical Context
The moment: Statement from the dock, Rivonia Trial, April 20, 1964 — the day before sentencing
The Rivonia Trial (1963–64) was the apartheid state's attempt to destroy the African National Congress leadership in one move. Mandela and nine colleagues faced charges of sabotage and conspiracy to commit violent revolution. The maximum penalty was death.
On April 20, 1964 — the day before sentencing — Mandela read a statement from the dock that took three hours to deliver. He did not appeal for mercy. He explained the ANC's position, the history of apartheid oppression, and the reasoning that had led him to support armed struggle. He ended by saying he was prepared to die for his ideals.
The court sentenced Mandela to life imprisonment rather than death — partly because the international outrage generated by the trial made execution politically impossible. He served 27 years on Robben Island.
Released on February 11, 1990, Mandela led South Africa's transition to democracy and was elected President in the country's first fully democratic election in 1994. His statement at Rivonia is now recognised as one of the great documents of the 20th century.
The Speech
"I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
Context
Nelson Mandela, statement from the dock, Palace of Justice, Pretoria, April 20, 1964. Read at the conclusion of the Rivonia Trial. Mandela was sentenced the following day to life imprisonment. The statement is now preserved as part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
Mahatma Gandhi's Quit India Speech | Freedom Struggle Speeches
Gandhiji Speech on Quit India Movement - 8 August 1942
Limited Edition Prints
The Original Flag Painting is scanned using a museum quality, high resolution Cruse scanner.
Limited edition museum quality archival prints are available, signed and numbered by the artist.