[imagesource: Jurgen Schadeberg / Getty Images]

Despite some confusion and claims that the bubble is about to burst, the NFT (non-fungible token) boom is still popping up in various nooks and crannies.

Including Robben Island.

Auctioneers Bonhams, in partnership with Nelson Mandela’s eldest daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, has joined galleries, auction houses, popular brands, and artists all over who are jumping on the NFT bandwagon.

They’re offering a series of Nelson Mandela’s colourful Robben Island sketches as NFTs, being sold on the NFT platform, Nifty Gateway, reported Business Insider SA:

Bonhams, one of the oldest auctioneers of fine art and antiques, is the latest auction house to push boundaries, by becoming the first to offer artwork by Mandela as NFTs.

The ‘My Robben Island’ collection – with artworks titled ‘The Cell’, ‘The Window’, ‘The Harbour’, ‘The Lighthouse’, and ‘The Church’ – depicts Mandela’s perspective of the 18 years he spent imprisoned on the island:

Image: Bonhams

Image: Bonhams

Image: Bonhams

Image: Bonhams

The handwritten text titled ‘The Motivation’ includes his reflections on prison life and how the experience shaped his worldview.

Per Screen Rant, Makaziwe Mandela is keen to mint her father’s artwork, representing “the triumph of the human spirit”, as NFTs:

According to her, turning the paintings into NFTs and offering them to buyers would help her father’s message and art reach new audiences.

“My dad was all about creating an accessible society. This is a way of democratizing his art,” she said.

Each painting will be sold for $699 (around R10 500), while the complete collection is set at $3 495 (around R53 000), in the auction that will run for six hours with an upper limit of 10 000 units sold.

Makaziwe has come under fire for capitalising on her father’s stuff, including artworks that some have posited might be forged.

She would perhaps counter by saying that some of the money from the NFT sale will go towards a memorial garden at Qunu, where Mandela is buried.

[sources:screenrant&businessinsider]