Phil Akashi paid tribute to human rights hero Nelson Mandela in Shanghai in 2013. The artist created a monumental portrait of the icon using a traditional Chinese seal (stamp) and a boxing glove dipped in black cinnabar ink paste to repeatedly imprint the Chinese character ”自由” / “freedom” on the wall. The resulting image consists of 27,000 punches, symbolizing the 27 years Mandela served in prison.

Phil Akashi used a boxing glove to add significance and power to his artwork. The artist also chose to work with Cinnabar paste for its significance in Taoist culture; red Cinnabar was regarded as the color of life and eternity. But instead the artist firmly decided to use black cinnabar paste to honor Mandela’s struggle against apartheid. This symbolic and powerful new painting resides in the Shanghai Graffiti Park, and is surrounded by graffiti works created by Shanghainese street artists. It took two weeks to complete the "performative / action painting" portrait and the artist lost five kilograms. 

Tribute to Mandela was shortlisted for the Hong Kong Human Rights Arts Prize in 2015 and was awarded as a major international public art project in 2013 by the Palo Alto Public Art Commission. This monumental street art piece has been featured in international publications such as the Guggenheim, MoMA, Artribune, RollingStone, Juxtapoz and Blouin Artinfo.

“This artwork exemplifies Nelson Mandela’s 27 years of incarceration but also symbolizes his lifelong brave stand for freedom and equality. Nelson Mandela is an extraordinary artist of peace. He was prepared to die for his ideal of democracy, harmony and freedom and therefore he represents a fantastic source of inspiration for the entire world.” Phil Akashi

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ARTWORKS

Tribute to Mandela, Limited edition print (ED27), Hong Kong, 2019
Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle German Etching - 68,5 x 98,5cm (unframed) - 85 x 115cm (framed)
Editions of 27 + 3 AP + 3 PP + 3 HC - Signed and numbered by the artist on recto
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Installation view

PICTURES 

In his autobiography "A long walk to freedom", Nelson Mandela mentioned his passion for boxing: 
"I enjoyed boxing for the science and for the strategy not for the violence. Boxing is egalitarian. 
On the ring, rank, age, color, wealth are irrelevant." Nelson Mandela

27.000 boxing punches with the Chinese characters 自由/“Freedom" exemplify Nelson Mandela’s 27 years of incarceration and his lifelong brave stand for freedom and equality.

Traditional Chinese seal (stamp), boxing glove and cinnabar ink paste

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HONG KONG HUMAN RIGHTS ARTS PRIZE 2015 - CHARITY AUCTION BY CHRISTIE'S

Phil Akashi' street art project "Tribute to Mandela" made it through the final round of shortlisting for the Hong Kong Human Rights Arts Prize 2015.

Established in 2013, the Hong Kong Human Rights Arts Prize aims to harness the power of the visual arts – painting, photography, graphics and video amongst them – to promote awareness, provoke dialogue, inspire action and bring about change in the area of human rights.

The shorlisted artworks were selected by an eminent panel of prominent art experts and human rights specialists, including:  Faina Derman, director of Sundaram Tagore Gallery in Hong Kong; Oscar Ho, art activist and professor at CUHK; Mina Park, art collector and lawyer-turned-entrepreneur and Puja Kapai, human rights expert and law professor at HKU.

All the shortlisted artworks have been exhibited at the Anita Chan Lai-ling Gallery, Fringe Club from Friday December 4 to Thursday December 10.  The artworks have been auctioned by Christie's on the evening of December 10, International Human Rights Day. Additional artworks donated by leading artists and supporters of the Hong Kong Human Rights Arts Prize - including Kacey Wong, Gyun Hur, MAP Office and David Boyce have also been auctioned. All funds raised on the night will go to support the non-profit Justice Centre to protect the rights of forced migrants in Hong Kong. 

AWARDS CEREMONY AND CHARITY AUCTION BY CHRISTIE'S

Dates: Thursday December 10, 7-10pm (International Human Rights Day)
Venue: The Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central 
Auctionned artwork: Phil Akashi has offered the #1 of a limited edition set of 8. This set was created especially for the Hong Kong Human Rights Art Prize 2015.