Mandela's artistic talents on display

Paintings by former South African President Nelson Mandela are to be displayed in the former prison colony of Robben Island in Cape Town, where the 84-year-old statesman was imprisoned for 27 years.

Proceeds from the sale of the paintings will be donated to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund.

Mandela only started painting recently, here he can be seen working on sketches...

...one of which became this picture of Cape Town's Table Mountain behind bars (r), while another became his hand imprint (l)

This painting shows Mandela's hand print, resembling the African continent, surrounded by ones of HIV-infected young children

His tutor describes Mandela's style - such as in his painting of Robben Island harbour - as "no frills"

And its certainly a far brighter interpretation of the prison's grim reality