Created by South African artist Marco Cianfanelli, “Release” is a gorgeous monument to a true icon of peace: Nelson Mandela. To mark the 50th anniversary of Mandela’s capture by apartheid police in 1962, Cianfanelli created 50 columns of painted laser-cut steel in the South African town of Howick. Intriguing shapes up close, the pieces create a striking profile of Nelson from afar. Cianfanelli says, “the 50 columns represent the 50 years since his capture, but they also suggest the idea of many making the whole; of solidarity. It points to an irony as the political act of Mandela’s incarceration cemented his status as an icon of struggle, which helped ferment the groundswell of resistance, solidarity and uprising, bringing about political change and democracy.” Such a powerful and beautiful piece of work…

(photographs via designboom)