Patel is the first actress from South Africa to engage in the Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) business. It’s crucial to highlight that the NFT isn’t merely a picture or a GIF. It’s a stunning sculpture of her face. She is also leveraging the power of NFTs to support a good cause in this year’s Momint NFT auction, in addition to becoming the first actress in South Africa to be involved in NFTs.
Patel discussed how important it is for her to make a name for herself as an actress in the fascinating realm of NFTs.
“I was racing against time to be the first South African actress to be involved in NFTs. I didn’t want it to just be anything – like a photo, because that can be made in five minutes. I wanted it to be really remarkable and iconic.”
And it is remarkable. The sculpture was constructed by Marco Olivier, who, according to Patel, went “all-out” and worked on it for months..
So why her face?
“As a person, my self-expression is storytelling and leaving behind a legacy. This face has been through so much and I have done so much.”
Patel has appeared in and produced films both in South Africa and overseas. As the founder and director of the Dr. Ramanbhai Patel Foundation, she is also involved in humanitarian work.
Patel believes that assisting others is an important element of leaving a legacy since her work for disadvantaged people carries on.
Think NFTs are not something for an actress to be part of? Reconsider.
“NFTs are not typically in this space but it kind of is because it is art and it will be around for hundreds of years.”
Patel lauded the NFT business as the way of the future.
“I think NFT is the future. It is moving away from traditional banking and the NFT industry has really exploded.”
But what’s all the excitement about NFTs in general, and most especially in the art world?
Because fraud is so common in the art world, art must have some kind of paperwork that outlines the piece’s ownership history.
“Verifying an artwork is a long and expensive process – so why is it done? The answer seems obvious – because art buyers want to know they’re getting the real deal. Buyers pay for more than just the artwork – they’re paying for a spot in the chain of ownership of the piece,” said Momint on their website.
This is where the art world’s fondness for NFT comes into play. You can’t merely screenshot an image and call it a day because NFT technology gives a file an undeniable ownership history.
“Further to that, because NFTs aren’t fungible (are unique and cannot be replaced), the buyer has proof that they are the sole owner of an art piece, issued by the artist. That means that NFT technology could place digital artworks in the same spot of cultural significance as real-world art: many people can see and enjoy them and they can even get hold of free copies of them, but we know that the original copy linked to the artist is owned by an individual,” said Momint.