The South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, philanthropist, and the first president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela's legacy cannot be underestimated. Nowadays, almost 10 years after Nelson Mandela's death in September 2013, the fine art auctioneer Bonhams and the Nifty Gateway NFT platform are about to sell the exclusive watercolors by the Father of the South African Nation as NFTs.
The five drawings and a handwritten note were created by Nelson Mandela in a tiny cell of Robben Island jail where he spent 18 of 27 total years of imprisonment. The NFT collection, dubbed My Robben Island will see the world on March 9th.
All willing to own non-fungible artworks by the anti-apartheid hero will have an opportunity to purchase one piece for $699 or the whole six-piece collection for $3,495. The collection with a maximum of 10,000 editions will be available only for 6 hours, so be quick!
Now, let's take a closer look at the watercolors. Each of the five paintings named The Cell, The Window, The Harbour, The Church, and The Lighthouse, was created in 2002 as a therapeutic activity under the guidance of art teacher Verenka Paschke. Thus, The Cell shows the inner space of the premise, where the leader was forced to stay most of 18 years of his imprisonment. The Window shows the view through rusty bars overlooking Table Mountain. The Harbour reveals the building of the prison, which appears in front of the newcomers to the island via boat.
The Lighthouse and The Church describe the two other Robben Islands far from numerous landmarks. And, finally, the handwritten note dubbed The Motivation explains the author's visualization of the island prison. All the digitized art pieces include Mandela's signature, and according to the former president's daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, symbolize "the triumph of the human spirit."
She said: “When my dad was on the island, he was surrounded by grey. Remember, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He never thought he would walk out of prison. But the paintings say we should never despair.”
