i had the honor of collaborating with @vaultbycnn, CNN’s web3 project, on an nft drop commemorating nelson mandela’s release from prison after 32 years. i took a famous photo of his prison cell in robben island and repurposed it using ai-generated objects and hand drawn elements. the bars looking out into a flower garden represent mandela’s never-ending hope. the shoes are a representation of when he was released and wore a suit, as we see in the iconic CNN footage. the use of blue throughout the piece represents freedom and inspiration. i wanted to incorporate a lot of small symbols and illustrations that represent who mandela was and more importantly what he wanted the world to be. web3 helps push boundaries forward and break walls down. it represents creative freedom, and a freedom to spread messages by connecting with people from all around the world. i’m honored to be a part of this intersection of culture with @vaultbycnn, connecting the dots between the past and the future while pushing the same mission forward. dropping this thursday at 10am pst 🙏🏽